A 6'5" (1.96 m) shooting guard–small forward from the University of Mississippi, 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 by the Dallas Mavericks, and played in eight NBA seasons from 1981 to 1989, for the Mavericks, the Denver Nuggets, and the Chicago Bulls.

[1] In 2008, Turner was interviewed twice[2] for the Phoenix Suns' head coach position that became vacant when Mike D'Antoni left,[1] but was not hired.

[10] Turner signed a two-year contract, becoming the Suns' fifth assistant head coach, with Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle, Igor Kokoškov, and Noel Gillespie.

[11] He, Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, and then-interim coach Kaleb Canales were the four finalists for the job.

His son, Elston Turner Jr., played guard for the University of Washington Huskies men's basketball team from 2008 to 2010.