[1] Möttölä attended the University of Utah, in the United States, where he played college basketball under head coach Rick Majerus.

He was a starter on the Utah Utes team that played in the final of the 1998 NCAA national championship tournament, which they lost to Kentucky.

After college, Möttölä was selected in the second round, with the 40th overall pick, in the 2000 NBA draft, by the Atlanta Hawks.

His final NBA game was on April 17, 2002, in a 81–89 loss to the Boston Celtics where he recorded 1 steal and 2 rebounds.

He played in Spain with TAU Cerámica of the Liga ACB, where he suffered an ankle injury.