Cenk Yıldırım (born 25 December 1972) is a Turkish 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 ...

assistant coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Panathinaikos of the

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

(GBL) and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

, under head coach

Ergin Ataman Halil Ergin Ataman (born January 7, 1966) is a Turkish professional basketball coach, currently managing Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He is also the head coach of the Turkish national team. During ...

. He is also one of the assistant coach of the Turkish national team since 2022.

Early life

Yıldırım played professional basketball for Pertevniyal, Taçspor, Şekerspor and Kayseri Meysu.

Coaching career

Anadolu Efes (2016–2023)

As an assistant coach, Yıldırım worked for

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 EuroLeagu ...

between 2016 and 2023. Under head coach

, he helped the team to three Turkish League Championships, two Turkish Cups, three

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

, and two

titles in the 2020–21 and 2021–22. Also, he was an assistant coach during the 2016–17 season under head coach

Velimir Perasović Velimir Perasović (; born 9 February 1965) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player. He is serving as the head coach for the Russian team BC UNICS, UNICS Kazan of the VTB United League. Early life Perasović was born in Stob ...

. Yıldırım was an assistant coach for the Turkish national team at the

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

and at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification.

Panathinaikos (2023–present)

In June 2023, Yıldırım moved to Greece as the assistant coach of Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. 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. He was also part of

's staff when Panathinaikos won the 40th league title. On February 16, 2025, he won the

Greek Basketball Cup The Greek Basketball Cup or Hellenic Basketball Cup (also stylized as Basket Cup; Greek: Κύπελλο Ελλάδος καλαθοσφαίρισης ανδρών) is the top-tier level annual professional basketball national cup competition i ...

for the first time after beating

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

in the final.

Career achievements

;As assistant coach *

champion: 3 (with

: 2020–21, 2021–22) , (with Panathinaikos: 2023–24) *

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

champion: 3 (with

: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23) *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

winner: 2 (with

: 2018, 2022) *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

winner: 3 (with

: 2018, 2019, 2022) * Greek League champion: 1 (with Panathinaikos: 2023–24) *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

champion: 1 (with Panathinaikos: 2025)

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Coach ProfileRealgm.com Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yıldırım, Cenk 1972 births Living people Turkish basketball coaches Panathinaikos B.C. non-playing staff