Elston Howard Turner Sr. (born June 10, 1959) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who is an assistant coach for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA).

Playing career

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

–

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, leading Ole Miss to its first ever NCAA Tournament in his senior year, Turner was selected in the second round (43rd overall) of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 NBA season, 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the NBA ...

by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, and played in eight

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

seasons from 1981 to 1989, for the Mavericks, the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. He also coached and played in the CBA—as an assistant coach for the Quad City Thunder and as a player–coach for the Chicago Rockers. He also played professionally in Europe.

Coaching career

Turner later moved to the NBA, with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

(six years) and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

(four). In 2007, he rejoined

Rick Adelman Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden S ...

's staff at the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. In 2008, Turner was interviewed twice for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

' head coach position that became vacant when

Mike D'Antoni Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While h ...

left, but was not hired. In 2009, Turner was interviewed for the vacant

head coach position. Turner, Mark Jackson, and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

assistant Kurt Rambis were the three finalists for the job, and Rambis was the Wolves' ultimate choice. In 2010, Turner was interviewed for both the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

' and the

' vacant head coaching positions. They were eventually taken by Doug Collins and Tom Thibodeau, respectively. Also in 2010, the Rockets allowed Turner to talk to the L.A. Clippers about its vacant head coaching job. In 2011, Turner was interviewed for a defensive coordinator position for the Phoenix Suns along with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

' coordinator

Jim Boylan Jim Boylan (born April 28, 1955) is an American basketball coach. He served as the interim head coach for the Chicago Bulls for part of the 2007–08 NBA season. He also served as an interim coach for the Milwaukee Bucks for part of the 2012– ...

, the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

' coordinator Don Newman, and the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

' coordinator Pete Myers. Turner signed a two-year contract, becoming the Suns' fifth assistant head coach, with Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle,

Igor Kokoškov Igor Stefan Kokoškov ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Стефан Кокошков; born 17 December 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach. He had spent 19 years in the NBA as an assistant coach, with a brief stint as head coach for the Phoenix ...

, and Noel Gillespie. In 2012, Turner was interviewed for the

' head coach position. He,

Terry Stotts Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coa ...

, Steve Clifford, and then-interim coach Kaleb Canales were the four finalists for the job. Ultimately, Turner was not hired. In January 2013, he resigned from his position with Phoenix. In September 2013, the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

hired him as an assistant coach. In 2016, Turner rejoined the

as an assistant coach. In 2019, he returned to the Rockets as the lead assistant coach who was added to focus on running defense—former assistant Jeff Bzdelik’s role. On August 31, 2021, Turner joined the

as an assistant coach.

Personal

Turner is a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. His son, Elston Turner Jr., played guard for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Huskies men's basketball team from 2008 to 2010. He transferred to

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

for his junior and senior seasons.Ex-Huskies reserve guard Elston Turner moves to Texas A&M
/ref>

Notes

External links

Basketpedya career data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Elston 1959 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Apollon Patras B.C. players Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players from Knoxville, Tennessee Chicago Bulls players Chicago Rockers players Continental Basketball Association coaches Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Liga ACB players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Shooting guards Small forwards Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players Wichita Falls Texans players