Kerem Gönlüm began his career with Ankara Şekerspor. He was then transferred to TED Kolejliler for the 1997-1998 season. In the 1998-1999 season, he played for the A team in the 1st league. After two years at TED Ankara College, he joined Ülkerspor, where he played for 6 seasons. Admired by Greg Popovich during a match between the National Team and Dream Team in the summer of 2004, the player received a transfer offer from the San Antonio Spurs, an NBA team, but the transfer did not materialise as his club Ülkerspor did not allow him to leave. One year later, he transferred to Anadolu Efes at the start of the 2005-2006 season.

Kerem Gönlüm played 15 seasons in the Euroleague, appearing in 242 games. He was named one of the "All-time rebounding top leaders" with 1,199 rebounds. He also played 178 games for the Turkish National team.