- Mehmet Okur
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Mehmet Okur Türk Telekom B.K. Center-Power forward Personal information Date of birth May 26, 1979 Place of birth Yalova, Turkey Nationality Turkish Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Listed weight 263 lb (119 kg) Career information NBA Draft 2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall Selected by the Detroit Pistons Pro career 1997–present Career history Oyak Renault (1997–1998)
Tofaş S.K. (1998–2000)
Efes Pilsen (2000–2002)
Detroit Pistons (2002–2004)
Utah Jazz (2004-present)
Türk Telekom B.K. (2011-present)Career highlights and awards 2007 NBA All-Star
1× NBA Champion (2004)Stats at NBA.com Medal record Competitor for Turkey FIBA European Championship Silver 2001 Turkey National team Mehmet Murat Okur (born May 26, 1979 in Yalova, Turkey) is a Turkish professional basketball player who currently plays for Türk Telekom B.K.. He is also under contract with the Utah Jazz of the NBA, and can return to that team when the 2011 NBA lockout ends. He is a 211 cm (6' 11")[1] power forward/center.
Contents
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] Mehmet was transferred to Efes Pilsen 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]
NBA 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 2.11 m (6'11") and 119.3 kg (263 lb),[1] Okur plays the center and power forward positions for the Utah Jazz. He has inside presence, but also has a reliable jump shot extending to the three-point range and is a solid free throw shooter with an 80.7 career percentage. On his first season (2004–2005) with Utah, he played in all 82 games, starting in 25 of them. Nicknamed "Memo", Okur had made his presence felt on his second (2005–2006) season with Utah from 12.9 points per game the previous season to 18.0 points per game, leading his team in scoring and rebounding, making him one of the league's most improved players. He started in all 82 games for the second straight season, as the only Utah Jazz player doing so. This season, he continued being a key player for Utah. He has also improved his 3 point shot,[7] and is known as a strong clutch player for the Jazz.[8]
On March 13, Okur became the franchise leader for making the most three-pointers in one month with 21 out of 31.[9] He has missed two games this season snapping his streak (233 consecutive games). 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 this summer.
He returned on December 17, 2010 and scored 2 points against the New Orleans Hornets.
All-Star
He was named to the Western Conference All-Star team for 2007 NBA All-Star Game. He and Ray Allen were selected as replacements for injured original members Allen Iverson and Steve Nash.[11] He is the first Turkish player to participate in this event.
Turk Telecom Ankara
In September 2011, Okur signed a contract with Türk Telekom B.K. His contract has an out-clause, which will allow him to return to the NBA when the 2011 NBA lockout is resolved.[12]
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.
Awards and honors
- NBA All-Star: 2007
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 Last updated: May 19, 2009.[7]
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 .4 .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 Career 617 446 29.1 .460 .377 .797 7.1 1.7 .5 .7 13.7 All-Star 1 0 15.0 1.000 .000 .000 2.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0 Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2002–03 Detroit 17 0 19.0 .438 .538 .531 4.1 .8 .7 .7 5.5 2003–04 Detroit 22 0 11.5 .470 .400 .692 2.8 .4 .2 .4 3.7 2006–07 Utah 17 17 34.4 .388 .316 .786 7.8 1.8 1.4 .9 11.8 2007–08 Utah 12 12 38.5 .423 .373 .773 11.8 1.9 .7 .7 15.4 2008–09 Utah 2 2 21.5 .167 .333 .750 5.0 2.0 .0 .5 4.0 2009–10 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 References
- ^ a b NBA Player Profile
- ^ NBA.com: Mehmet Okur Biography Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ World Championship fo.net/pd.asp?p=243 TBLstat.net: Mehmet Okur Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ Turkish Basketball League history Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ TBLstat.net: Mehmet Okur Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ Draft Profile: Mehmet Okur Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ a b NBA.com: Mehmet Okur Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ Okur named 2007 All Star
- ^ Mehmet Okur Beats Jazz 3-Pointer Record
- ^ "Jazz Signs Mehmet Okur to Multi-Year Extension". NBA.com. 2009-07-10. http://www.nba.com/jazz/multimedia/jazz_signs_mehmet_okur_to_extension.html. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ Allen, Okur get call to replace injured All-Star players, Retrieved February 13, 2007
- ^ Utah Jazz: Mehmet Okur signs with Turkish team
External links
- Basketball-Reference.com: Mehmet Okur
- Career Stats
- NBA Player Profile
- Official Homepage
- TurkSports.Net Mehmet Okur
- Player Profile @ Euroleague.net
Utah Jazz current roster Categories:- American Muslims
- 1979 births
- Living people
- Tofaş S.K. players
- Anadolu Efes SK players
- People from Yalova
- Power forwards (basketball)
- Turkish basketball players
- Turkish expatriate basketballers
- Turkish expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Detroit Pistons draft picks
- Detroit Pistons players
- Utah Jazz players
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