Bahar Öztürk

Bahar Öztürk — Biography

Bahar Öztürk, also known as Barbara Turner, is an American former basketball player and coach who also acquired Turkish citizenship while playing in Turkey. She helped Connecticut win two NCAA titles, played in the WNBA, and then spent many years in Turkey's women's basketball league. She is now an assistant coach with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she was named a WBCA All-American at East Technical High School. At UConn she contributed to the NCAA championships of 2003 and 2004 and was Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 Big East tournament. In 2006 the Seattle Storm took her 11th overall in the WNBA draft; in her first season she appeared in 34 games and averaged 6.4 points. She also played for the Houston Comets and the Connecticut Sun. At the 2003 Pan American Games she won silver with the US team.

In Europe she played for Fenerbahçe (2006-07), Jolly Šibenik in Croatia (2007-08), Tarsus Belediyespor, Kayseri KASKİ, Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi and Adana BOTAŞ; in 2013-14 she averaged 16.3 points in 31 games for BOTAŞ, who reached the TKBL semi-finals, and became known for her three-pointers. She joined Galatasaray Odeabank in 2014, then Orduspor, and from 2015 played for Hatay Büyükşehir Belediyespor. In 2021 she joined the Houston Rockets' player development staff and in 2024 became an assistant coach with the South Bay Lakers.