Mehmet Okur

Mehmet Okur
Phoenix Suns
Position Assistant coach
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1979-05-26) May 26, 1979
Yalova, Turkey
Nationality Turkish
Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight 249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career 1997–2013
Position Center / Power forward
Number 13
Coaching career 2016–present
Career history
As player:
1997–1998 Oyak Renault
1998–2000 Tofaş
2000–2002 Efes Pilsen
2002–2004 Detroit Pistons
2004–2011 Utah Jazz
2011 Türk Telekom
2011–2012 New Jersey Nets
As coach:
2016–present Phoenix Suns (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 8,561 (13.5 ppg)
Rebounds 4,436 (7.0 rpg)
Assists 1,089 (1.7 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  Turkey
FIBA European Championship
2001 Turkey National team

Mehmet Murat Okur (born May 26, 1979) is a Turkish retired professional basketball player. Listed at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m),[1] he played as a power forward and center. He was known for his terrific three point shooting and ability to space the floor. In his 7 seasons with the Utah Jazz, Mehmet Okur not only emerged as one of the premier shooting bigs in the NBA - he also became one of the league's most feared shooters in the clutch. From 2004-10 Okur displayed an uncanny knack for making big shots in pressure situations - earning him the nickname of "The Money Man" and "Memo is Money" amongst Jazz fans. On September 13, 2016, Okur was officially named a player development coach for the Phoenix Suns, thus becoming the first Turkish person to enter the coaching world in the NBA.

Early career

Okur notes Toni Kukoč was his favorite player while he was growing up.[2] He helped the Turkish 22-and-under national team to 6th place at the 1997 world championship.[3] He was transferred to Efes Pilsen (now known as Anadolu Efes) in 2000 and won a championship in the 2001–2002 Turkish Basketball League season.[4] He averaged 13.5 points per game during his last season in Turkey.[5]

Playing career

Detroit Pistons

Okur was selected 37th overall in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.[6] He played two seasons for the Pistons from 2002–03 to 2003–04, helping Detroit win the NBA championship in June 2004. He became the first Turkish player to win an NBA championship. Due to salary cap limitations, the Pistons were unable to pay a top-level salary for Okur, but he was able to parlay his success into a six-year, US$50 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

Utah Jazz

Standing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and 290 lbs (132 kg),[1] Okur played the center and power forward positions for the Utah Jazz. In his first season (2004–2005) with Utah, he played in all 82 games, starting in 25 of them. Nicknamed "Memo", Okur made his presence felt during his second (2005–2006) season with Utah, increasing his scoring average from 12.9 points per game the previous season to 18.0 points per game. He started in all 82 games for the second straight season, the only Utah Jazz player to do so. In his third season, he continued to be a key player for Utah.[7][8]

He was named to the Western Conference All-Star team for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. He and Ray Allen were selected as replacements for injured original members Allen Iverson and Steve Nash.[9] He was the first Turkish player to participate in this event.

On Monday, January 12, 2009, Okur established a new career high in points scored when he scored 43 points against the Indiana Pacers.

On July 10, 2009 Okur signed a two-year contract extension reportedly worth approximately $21 million.[10]

On April 17, 2010, Okur ruptured his Achilles' tendon during the first game of the post-season against the Denver Nuggets, eliminating him from the remainder of the NBA playoffs, as well as the World Basketball Championships in his native Turkey later that summer.

He returned on December 17, 2010 and scored 2 points against the New Orleans Hornets.

Türk Telekom Ankara

In September 2011, Okur signed a contract with Türk Telekom B.K. His contract had an out-clause, which allowed him to return to the NBA when the 2011 NBA lockout was resolved.[11]

New Jersey Nets

On December 22, 2011, Okur was traded to the New Jersey Nets for a 2015 second round pick.[12]

Portland Trail Blazers

On March 15, 2012, Okur was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Shawne Williams and a 2012 1st round draft pick in exchange for Gerald Wallace.[13] He was waived by Portland on March 21, 2012.[14]

Later in 2012, Okur decided to retire from basketball, citing injuries.[15]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
† Denotes season in which Okur won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Detroit 72 9 19.0 .426 .339 .733 4.7 1.0 .3 .5 6.9
2003–04† Detroit 71 33 22.3 .463 .375 .775 5.9 1.0 .5 .9 9.6
2004–05 Utah 82 25 28.1 .468 .270 .850 7.5 2.0 .4 .8 12.9
2005–06 Utah 82 82 35.9 .460 .342 .780 9.1 2.4 .5 .9 18.0
2006–07 Utah 80 80 33.3 .462 .384 .765 7.2 2.0 .5 .5 17.6
2007–08 Utah 72 72 33.2 .445 .388 .804 7.7 2.0 .8 .4 14.5
2008–09 Utah 72 72 33.5 .485 .446 .817 7.7 1.7 .8 .7 17.0
2009–10 Utah 73 73 29.4 .458 .385 .820 7.1 1.6 .5 1.1 13.5
2010–11 Utah 13 0 12.9 .355 .313 .750 2.3 1.5 .3 .3 4.9
2011–12 New Jersey 17 14 26.7 .374 .319 .600 4.8 1.8 .5 .3 7.6
Career 634 460 29.1 .458 .375 .797 7.0 1.7 .5 .7 13.5
All-Star 1 0 15.0 1.000 .000 .000 2.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0

[16]

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003 Detroit 17 0 19.0 .438 .538 .531 4.1 .8 .7 .7 5.5
2004 Detroit 22 0 11.5 .470 .400 .692 2.8 .4 .2 .4 3.7
2007 Utah 17 17 34.4 .388 .316 .786 7.8 1.8 1.4 .9 11.8
2008 Utah 12 12 38.5 .423 .373 .773 11.8 1.9 .7 .7 15.4
2009 Utah 2 2 21.5 .167 .333 .750 5.0 2.0 .0 .5 4.0
2010 Utah 1 1 11.0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.0 .0 .0 .0 7.0
Career 71 32 23.6 .415 .362 .713 5.9 1.1 .7 .6 8.1

Coaching career

Before working as a coach, Okur was an ambassador for the Utah Jazz from 2014 to August 2016.[17] On September 13, 2016, Okur agreed to a deal that made him one of the newest player development coaches for the Phoenix Suns.[18] Okur would soon become the first Turkish-born coach to ever be a part of an NBA coaching staff in some capacity. With the earlier hiring of Canadian Jay Triano, it would also mark the first time that two foreign-born coaches would take part in participating in the Suns' coaching staff at the same time. He would also be reunited with his former teammate Earl Watson and former coach Tyrone Corbin, although their roles would be different with Watson being the head coach and Corbin being an assistant coach.

Personal life

He is married to actress and former Miss Turkey finalist Yeliz Çalışkan. They have a daughter, Melisa, born on March 21, 2007, and a son, Yiğit Mehmet, born on February 19, 2010.

See also

References

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