Mehmet Okur
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| Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach | |||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born |
May 26, 1979 Yalova, Turkey |
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| 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 | ||||||||||
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Medals
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Mehmet Murat Okur (born May 26, 1979) is a Turkish retired professional basketball player. Listed at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 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. [1][2] 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.
Okur notes Toni Kukoč was his favorite player while he was growing up. He helped the Turkish 22-and-under national team to 6th place at the 1997 world championship. 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. He averaged 13.5 points per game during his last season in Turkey.
Okur was selected 37th overall in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. 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.
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