Kerem Gönlüm

Kerem Gönlüm — Biography

Kerem Gönlüm was born on 22 November 1977 in Eskişehir; standing 2.06 meters tall, he played power forward and center. He took up basketball at 19 with Şekerspor, entered the Turkish League in 1998-99 with Mydonose Kolejliler, and after moving to Ülkerspor in 1999 won his first title in 2000-01; when the club turned down a San Antonio Spurs offer for him in 2004, he stayed in Turkey.

Playing for Efes Pilsen/Anadolu Efes from 2005 to 2014, he won the 2008-09 league title, three Turkish Cups and two President's Cups, becoming known as the team's ever-present forward wearing number 12 -- though he served a one-year ban after a banned substance turned up in doping tests from the 2009 league finals. He signed with Galatasaray in June 2014, moved to Pınar Karşıyaka in 2015 and to Sakarya Büyükşehir Basketbol in 2016, then left in November 2017 for Bahçeşehir.

A national-team member through its major tournaments from 2003 to 2010, he was part of the squad that placed sixth in 2006 and won silver in 2010, earning 172 caps in all. Over more than 500 Turkish League games he passed 4,000 points and 3,000 rebounds, and ranked among the Euroleague's all-time top five in rebounds. In August 2019, at 41, he signed with İTÜ and ended his career there after just three games, having also begun sports commentary on local radio earlier that year. A nephew of saz virtuoso Özay Gönlüm, he is remembered in Turkish basketball for both his playing days and his later work as a pundit.