Cenk Yıldırım (born 25 December 1972) is a Turkish professional basketball assistant coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague, under head coach Ergin Ataman. He is also one of the assistant coach of the Turkish national team since 2022.
| Panathinaikos | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | GBL EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 25 December 1972 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish / Canadian |
| Coaching career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 2016–2023 | Anadolu Efes (assistant) |
| 2023–present | Panathinaikos (assistant) |
Early life
editYıldırım played professional basketball for Pertevniyal, Taçspor, Şekerspor and Kayseri Meysu. [1]
Coaching career
editAnadolu Efes (2016–2023)
editAs an assistant coach, Yıldırım worked for Anadolu Efes between 2016 and 2023. Under head coach Ergin Ataman, he helped the team to three Turkish League Championships, two Turkish Cups, three EuroLeague Finals, and two EuroLeague titles in the 2020–21 and 2021–22.
Also, he was an assistant coach during the 2016–17 season under head coach Velimir Perasović.
Yıldırım was an assistant coach for the Turkish national team at the EuroBasket 2022 and at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification. [2]
Panathinaikos (2023–present)
editIn June 2023, Yıldırım moved to Greece as the assistant coach of Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. [3]
In the 2023–24 season, he won the EuroLeague title for Panathinaikos for the first time since 2011 and his third as an assistant coach.[4]
Career achievements
edit- As assistant coach
- EuroLeague champion: 3 (with Anadolu Efes: 2020–21, 2021–22) , (with Panathinaikos: 2023–24)
- Turkish League champion: 3 (with Anadolu Efes: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23)
- Turkish Cup winner: 2 (with Anadolu Efes: 2018, 2022)
- Turkish Super Cup winner: 3 (with Anadolu Efes: 2018, 2019, 2022)
- Greek League champion: 1 (with Panathinaikos: 2023–24)
References
edit- ^ "Cenk Yıldırım ile Kanada, Kobe Bryant, Anadolu Efes ve takım içi kültür üzerine". eurosport.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Turkey at FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualification". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Cenk Yıldırım Panathinaikos'ta". basketdergisi.com. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Panathinaikos win their 7th EuroLeague title after defeating Real Madrid". basketnews.com. Retrieved 2024-05-26.