Sports
Mehmet Okur
born 1979 · basketball player
First Turkish player to win an NBA championship, as a reserve center-forward on the Pistons' 2004 title team.
- Born
Yalova, Turkey
age 47- Birth name
- Mehmet Murat Okur
- Also known as
- Memo
- Detroit years
- 2002–2004
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Detroit drafted Mehmet Okur in the second round in 2001 and brought him over from Turkey the following year. Playing center and power forward off the bench for two seasons, he set a career high of 18 rebounds and 12 points in a November 2003 win over Milwaukee and became a steady contributor as the Pistons won the 2004 NBA championship, making him the first Turkish player to win an NBA title. Salary-cap limits kept Detroit from re-signing him, and he parlayed the breakout into a six-year, fifty-million-dollar contract with the Utah Jazz, where he became known as "the Money Man."
Highlights
- Drafted by the Pistons in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft
- Played for Detroit 2002–2004
- First Turkish player to win an NBA championship (2004)
- Left Detroit as a free agent for a six-year deal with Utah
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 2002–2004
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2017
His home court for two seasons, capped by the 2004 championship run.