Chicago Bulls: Top 3 players ever taken with the 38th pick in NBA Draft
By Nick Porr
Who the Chicago Bulls can look to as the best players picked at No. 38: Mehmet Okur
The only player in the modern era to be taken with the no. 38 pick and make an NBA All-Star game, Turkish product Mehmet Okur found success with the Utah Jazz.
Drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2001, Okur spent one year playing in Turkey before coming state-side to join the Pistons for the 2002-2003 NBA season.
Okur was with the Pistons for their title run in 2003-2004, playing 9.5 minutes per game in their 4-1 victory in the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the summer of 2004, Okur signed with the Utah Jazz as a free agent. In his first season in Utah, Okur mostly came off the bench.
Okur played all 82 games for the Jazz, starting in 25 of them and averaging 12.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds off the bench.
In his second season in Utah Okur broke through into a starting role, starting in all 82 games as the Jazz went 41-41.
In seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, Okur was a consistent force inside for a competitive Utah Jazz team.
Across those seven seasons, Okur averaged 15.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds, posting 45 win shares for the Jazz according to Basketball-Reference.
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The 2006-2007 season was arguably Okurs best when he was added to the All-Star game as an injury replacement. However, in 2005-2006, Okur posted 9.0 win shares, ahead of Hedo Turkoglu and his other seasons for the most win shares in a single season by a Turkish player.
A long and consistent career, Okur is as good as it gets from the No. 38 pick.