Mehmet Okur

Mehmet Okur — Biography

Mehmet Okur was the first Turkish basketball player to win an NBA championship, doing so with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. He then made his name over seven seasons with the Utah Jazz and in 2007 became the first Turk selected for the All-Star Game. At 2.11 meters he played power forward and center and was known for spacing the floor with three-point shooting. After retiring he joined the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first Turkish citizen to coach in the NBA.

A goalkeeper in football as a child, Okur took up basketball at 14. At 17 he helped Oyak Renault return to the top league from the second tier, then won the 1999-00 league title with Tofaş; in 2000 he moved to Efes Pilsen and took another league title in 2001-02. He was picked in the second round of the 2001 draft by the Pistons and signed with them in 2002. In his first season he played 72 games and the team reached the Eastern Conference finals. His second season ended with the championship.

On July 27, 2004, he signed a six-year, 50 million dollar contract with the Jazz; in his second season there his scoring average rose from 12.9 to 18.0 points, and on January 12, 2009, he set a career high with 43 points against the Indiana Pacers. His shooting under pressure earned him the nickname Money Man among fans. He later played briefly for the New Jersey Nets and Portland, and on November 8, 2012, he announced his retirement. He won 179 caps for his country and played in the EuroBasket 2001 final. In September 2016 he became a Suns player development coach, leaving in October 2017.