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Mehmet Okur

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Mehmet Okur
Okur with the Utah Jazz in 2010
Personal information
Born (1979-05-26) 26 May 1979 (age 45)
Yalova, Turkey
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2001: 2nd round, 38th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1997–2011
PositionCenter / power forward
Number13
Coaching career2015–present
Career history
As player:
1997–1998Oyak Renault
1998–2000Tofaş
2000–2002Efes Pilsen
2002–2004Detroit Pistons
2004–2011Utah Jazz
2011Türk Telekom
2011–2012New Jersey Nets
As coach:
2016–2017Phoenix Suns (player development)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,561 (13.5 ppg)
Rebounds4,436 (7.0 rpg)
Assists1,089 (1.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Turkey
FIBA European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2001 Turkey Team

Mehmet Murat Okur (born 26 May 1979) is a Turkish former professional basketball player. Listed at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m),[1] he played as a power forward and center.

Okur is known for his three-point shooting and ability to space the floor. In his seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, he emerged as a talented shooter in the NBA. From 2004 to 2010, he displayed a talent for making big shots in pressure situations, earning him the nickname of "the Money Man" and "Memo is Money" among Jazz fans. Okur was also the first Turkish player in NBA history to win an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

In 2016, Okur was named a player development coach for the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first Turkish citizen to enter the coaching world in the NBA.

Early career

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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][6]

Professional career

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Detroit Pistons (2002–2004)

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Okur was selected 38th overall in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.[7] He played two seasons for the Pistons from 2002–03 to 2003–04. On November 7, 2003, Okur led the Pistons to a 105–99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, with a career-high 18 rebounds and 12 points.[8] During the 2004 NBA playoffs, Okur helped 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, and Okur was able to parlay his success into a six-year, US$50 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

Utah Jazz (2004–2011)

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Okur signed with the Jazz on 27 July 2004 and played seven seasons in Utah from 2004 to 2011, spending the majority of his career with the team. Standing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and 290 lbs (132 kg),[1] Okur played the center and power forward positions for the 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.[9][10]

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.[11] He was the first Turkish player to participate in this event.

On 12 January 2009, Okur scored a career-high in points with 43 against the Indiana Pacers during a 120-113 win.[12]

On 10 July 2009 Okur signed a two-year contract extension reportedly worth approximately $21 million.[13]

On 17 April 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 17 December 2010 and scored 2 points against the New Orleans Hornets.

Türk Telekom Ankara (2011)

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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.[14]

New Jersey Nets (2011–2012)

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On 22 December 2011, Okur was traded to the New Jersey Nets for a 2015 second round pick (later used to select Pat Connaughton).[15] This reunited him with former Jazz teammate, PG Deron Williams, who was traded to the Nets the previous season. Okur played 17 games for the Nets, averaging 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

On 15 March 2012, Okur was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Shawne Williams and a 2012 first-round pick (later used to select Damian Lillard in exchange for Gerald Wallace.[16]

He was waived by Portland on 21 March 2012.[17]

Later in 2012, Okur decided to retire from basketball, citing injuries.[18] In Okur's final 2 years in the league, he only played 30 games total. His final game being on January 25, 2012, where he recorded 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in a 97–90 win over the 76ers.

NBA career statistics

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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
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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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

[19]

Playoffs

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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

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Before working as a coach, Okur was an ambassador for the Utah Jazz from 2014 to August 2016.[20] On 13 September 2016, he agreed to a deal that made him one of the newest player development coaches for the Phoenix Suns.[21] 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.

After seeing slight improvements in his first season as a player development coach, Okur was fired alongside assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren and fellow player development coach Jason Fraser on 22 October 2017. The sudden firing came after the Suns had some very poor performances to start out their 50th anniversary season, leading to a 0–3 start to their season.

Personal life

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He is married to actress and former Miss Turkey finalist Yeliz Çalışkan.[22] They have a daughter, Melisa, born on 21 March 2007, and two sons, Yiğit Mehmet Okur, born on 19 February 2010, and Mert Mehmet Okur, born on 19 November 2014. He and his family currently live in San Diego, California.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b NBA Player Profile
  2. ^ NBA.com: Mehmet Okur Biography Archived 18 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Archived 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 18 February 2007
  3. ^ World Championship[dead link‍] Retrieved 18 February 2007
  4. ^ Turkish Basketball League history Retrieved 18 February 2007
  5. ^ TBLstat.net: Mehmet Okur Retrieved 18 February 2007
  6. ^ "Mehmet Okur: Evliliğimiz tabii ki mükemmel değil".
  7. ^ Draft Profile: Mehmet Okur Retrieved 18 February 2007
  8. ^ ESPN: Okur grabs 18 boards for Pistons
  9. ^ NBA.com: Mehmet Okur Archived 19 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 18 February 2007
  10. ^ Okur named 2007 All Star
  11. ^ Allen, Okur get call to replace injured All-Star players, Retrieved 13 February 2007
  12. ^ Okur scores career-high 43 in Jazz win over Pacers
  13. ^ "Jazz Signs Mehmet Okur to Multi-Year Extension". NBA.com. 10 July 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  14. ^ Utah Jazz: Mehmet Okur signs with Turkish team
  15. ^ "NETS Acquire Mehmet Okur". NBA.com. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Trail Blazers Acquire Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, And 2012 First Round Draft Pick From New Jersey". NBA.com. 15 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Trail Blazers Claim JJ Hickson Off Waivers". NBA.com. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  18. ^ Mehmet Okur announces his retirement from basketball
  19. ^ NBA.com: Mehmet Okur Archived 19 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 May 2009
  20. ^ "Utah Jazz: Mehmet Okur Joining Suns as Player Development Coach". 13 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Suns Add Mehmet Okur, Jason Hervey to Basketball Staff". NBA.com. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  22. ^ Buckley, Tim (23 March 2007). "Okur feeling the baby blues". Deseret News. Los Angeles. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
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