Ronny Turiaf (born January 13, 1983 in Le Robert, Martinique) is a French basketball player, selected in the second round (37th pick overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He primarily plays power forward.
Turiaf spent most of his childhood in Martinique, moving at age 15 to Paris to attend Insep (National Institute of Physical Education), which combines secondary school with elite-level athletic training. By 1999, he had made the French under-18 national team, and in 2000 he and future NBA stars Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, and Mickaël Piétrus helped lead France to the European under-18 championship.
In 2001, he left France to attend Gonzaga University, playing four years. In his last three years at Gonzaga, he was named a first-team All-West Coast Conference player, and was the conference's Player of the Year in his senior year (2004-05). For his career at Gonzaga, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, averaging 15.9 points and 9.5 rebounds as a senior.
After being drafted, Turiaf signed his rookie contract with the Lakers. Then, while preparing to play with the Lakers' summer league team in 2005, he underwent a physical which uncovered a heart-related problem; a more comprehensive exam found an enlarged aortic root, known as aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva. As a result of Turiaf's condition, the Lakers voided his rookie contract. However, given the doctors' prognosis that successful surgery should correct the problem and possibly allow Turiaf to return to a basketball career, the team paid for his surgery after the NBA did not prohibit them from doing so.
Turiaf underwent open-heart surgery on July 26, 2005. He was initially expected to miss the entire 2005-06 NBA season and to work toward joining the Lakers for the 2006-07 campaign. In December 2005, months after his surgery, Turiaf, as part of his rehabilitation, signed with the Continental Basketball Association's Yakama Sun Kings by whom he was drafted with the fifth pick in the 2005 CBA draft. However, after being given what Laker coach Phil Jackson termed "a new lease on life", Turiaf recovered more quickly than expected. Just six months after his surgery, he signed a new contract with the Lakers, forgoing an opportunity to play in Spain for more money. He was able to play by the middle of the 2005-06 season, but was used only sparingly, as Jackson was still wary about playing him.
After his rookie season, Turiaf was named to the French national basketball team for the 2006 Basketball World Championship tournament.
On Wednesday, November 1, 2006, in the second game of the 2006-07 season, Turiaf scored career highs in almost every category, including 23 points, against the Golden State Warriors.
He has been a key component during the 2007-2008 season thus far, earning a spot in starting line-up at the forward position beside Lamar Odom. He sat out two games after a moderate left ankle sprain on November 16, 2007, and returned to play November 21, 2007 against the Indiana Pacers.
Turiaf is also known for his enthusiastic support when he is on the bench, always cheering, jumping and dancing energetically during good Laker plays. As a result, he is sometimes called "the Lakers' best cheerleader".
