Euroleague Basketball welcomes Technogym as the Official Training Partner of the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade. The Italian-based Technogym is a leader in the field of commercial and home gym equipment. 

Technogym is the Official Training Partner of Belgrade Final Four

At the Final Four, Technogym will provide all the necessary premium equipment for players and team trainers to continue their normal workout patterns while in Belgrade on the chase for EuroLeague glory.

"Our athletes are used to training at their clubs' state-of-the-art facilities all season long and we are obliged to ensure they can continue to work out with the most advanced equipment as they prepare for success at the Final Four in Belgrade," Ibrahim Erkan, Euroleague Basketball Sports Director, said. "Technogym offers us the perfect solution for our players' and teams' needs, and we are delighted to partner with a premium brand that has a long-standing reputation in the training programs of world-class athletes from all across the sporting spectrum."

Technogym's stated goal is to help develop the philosophy of fitness and wellbeing and turn it into a true lifestyle. In doing so, it not only makes training products of the highest quality, but it complements that with all the necessary content and programs.

"At Technogym, we work every day to develop the best products and digital solutions to support professional athletes as well as fitness enthusiasts to reach their goals and their aspirations," Technogym Founder and CEO Nerio Alessandri said. "Technogym has been an Official Supplier of the last eight Olympic Games as well as the brand of reference for athletes training all over the world. Starting from our long-term commitment at the side of athletes, we are delighted that Euroleague Basketball has chosen Technogym as Official Partner of the Final Four."

Olympiacos Piraeus head coach Georgios Bartzokas heads to his third Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four - and second with the Reds, which he guided to the 2013 crown.

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Bartzokas made history earlier this month when his team ousted AS Monaco 3-2 in the EuroLeague Playoffs, becoming the first coach to win a deciding Game 5 of a EuroLeague Playoffs series for the third time.

While the coach is ending a six-year Final Four drought, Olympiacos is making its return to the season's pinnacle event for the first time since 2017 after a season that saw the team open and finish the regular season in style. The Reds set the tone by winning 12 of their first 17 games and finished by winning eight of their last 10 to claim second place in the standings.

Then came a thrilling playoff series against Monaco, in which Olympiacos won the first, third and fifth games, including rallying from a double-digit deficit in the decider in Piraeus.

"It is always difficult", Bartzokas said with a smile. "It is never going to be easy. Never in my life, but never for sure in Olympiacos's life. Everything is tough. But if it is tough, it is difficult, you appreciate it more."

Throughout the season, including during that series, Olympiacos displayed a great team effort with multiple players ready to take leading roles. Only one player, All-EuroLeague forward Sasha Vezenkov, averaged more than 25 minutes per game and the team averaged more than 80 points per game despite no players scoring better than 13.7 points and only three players averaging in double figures. It all aligned with Bartzokas's coaching philosophy.

"Day by day, practice by practice I try to create a philosophy that we are not selfish."

"If you see my teams at times, you will see the team effort and creativity," Bartzokas explained. "Everybody is involved in the offensive game. Everybody has to share the ball. We always appreciate a guy who passes the ball more than a guy who scores."

To have a philosophy is one thing, but to successfully implement and adapt it for each new season despite some inevitable roster turnover is another. For Bartzokas, it is a constant effort.

"Day by day, practice by practice I try to create a philosophy that we are not selfish. Whoever is selfish, he goes to the corner. If someone does not care about the team, cares only about his stats, he is leaving the team. That is my perspective," he said.

Final Four Interview: Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus

But for as much he is proud of his teams and the success he's had in the past, Bartzokas will point out: "The roster here of Olympiacos this year is one of the best I ever had. Not only according to the talent but also for caring for each other."

In 2013, Bartzokas guided Olympiacos to the EuroLeague crown, one of the club's three EuroLeague titles. In 2016 he reached the Final Four with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, that club's only Final Four appearance, and in 2018 he led Khimki Moscow Region to the EuroLeague Playoffs, also the club's only such achievement.

In the past, Bartzokas has repeatedly succeeded and often done so almost instantly. This season with Olympiacos, however, the coach explained that the success is a result of a two-and-a-half-year process since he returned to the club.

"We needed patience because we were in the transitional period for the club," he said, referring to the status of the club's two legendary players. Vassilis Spanoulis retired and team captain Georgios Printezis is nearing the end of his career.

"We needed to bring some new kids here who fit the Olympiacos mentality," Bartzokas continued. "The fighting, playing for the team, playing for the fans. Being in the same philosophy that the philosophy of the club that you never give up, you keep on fighting."

"The roster here of Olympiacos this year is one of the best I ever had. Not only according to the talent but also for caring for each other."

This summer, Olympiacos signed Moustapha Fall, Thomas Walkup, Tyler Dorsey and Michalis Lountzis. They were added to a core of players, some of whom were added a summer earlier, including point guard and three-time EuroLeague champion Kostas Sloukas.

Each player chosen has his purpose and Bartzokas knowing the mentality he wanted was one of the keys to the Reds' success.

"I have experience from Olympiacos, it's that simple," Bartzokas said. "There is never an easy day. Whoever knows the club, knows it is something different. Fans, it is amazing how they support the club, and also they put pressure on the club to achieve things. At Olympiacos sometimes it is not easy to just win games. You need to play well, you need to sacrifice yourself for the team."

And even when the expectation rose because of the team performing well this season, Bartzokas had a way to handle it.

"I know exactly the mentality and I was trying every day not to set long-term goals, just the next practice, the next game. That was a philosophy I had to do, and I did it. To translate to everybody not to start thinking what is going to happen during the Final Four \[if we make it\], let's start watching the next game, the next practice. And finally, we ended up reaching the Final Four."

What separated Olympiacos from other teams this season was its consistency. They lost two consecutive games in mid-November and had a four-game losing streak in January after the team was struck with 13 COVID-19 cases. Other than those two occasions, Olympiacos never lost consecutive games.

"Whenever we had a tough loss we bounced back. We were always ready to play the next game", Bartzokas pointed out. "I am more concerned about this team after a big win, not after a big loss. I am sure we are going to be ready, going to prepare mentally and physically in the right way. I was not concerned about attitude."

One can easily assign the credit for that bounce-back ability to Bartzokas. He went on a record in the past saying that for a coach "losses can feel like funerals", but also that "for a coach, it's always very important to see how a team reacts when they lose a game."

Bartzokas also admitted that he, as a coach, is more mature. Years on the sidelines and being in many different situations have helped him shape an understanding of how to navigate through the season.

"I am more concerned about this team after a big win, not after a big loss. I am sure we are going to be ready, going to prepare mentally and physically in the right way."

"We did not have many ups and downs, which are normal in a long season. It is impossible to always be at a high level, you have to admit that. It is normal to see the champions lose by 30 points. The level of intensity is fantastic in Europe, physicality is great. You cannot always be in a winning process," Bartzokas said.

"You just need to handle the situation inside the locker room, in the environment of the team. You need to be supportive, you need to have conflicts. You must do this sometimes. There are many egos in any professional basketball team, and sometimes you need conflicts, you need to be tough."

When it comes to this season, Bartzokas says his players made it easier for him.

"I am really lucky, we have great characters this year. Everybody is caring about each other. Five or six players came to my office and asked how can we help one teammate that is not feeling good right now, how can we support him?

"When I saw this, I was sure about this team and what we can achieve."

Bartzokas said that he believes the way the team went about business throughout the season, including overcoming the high-pressure Game 5 in the playoffs, can give it an advantage in Belgrade.

The series against Monaco made us better as a team. It helped us get stronger, and stick together. And I believe it was the same for Monaco, which is a better team after going through the series. We might be better in the Final Four just because of the series," Bartzokas concluded. "Now, we have to prepare our minds, and prepare ourselves tactically, physically and mentally to compete against the European champions."

Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos: 'I was sure about this team'

Georgios Bartzokas - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB21-PO3

When he first left his native Hungary for Spain in 2011, Adam Hanga was very much a complete unknown, certainly for fans. More than a decade later, his career lacks only a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title to seal his status as one of the signature players of the competition since his debut in 2013.

Adam Hanga, Real: 'The third time is the charm, right?' 

Hanga arrives in Belgrade this week for his third Final Four with three different teams: Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, FC Barcelona and, now, Real Madrid.

In his very first Final Four game, an overtime semifinal loss to Fenerbahce Istanbul in 2016, Hanga was on the court for almost 42 minutes, more than any player in a Final Four game since 2010 and the third-most ever.

"I can recall that game minute-by-minute, to be honest," Hanga says. "I remember the gym was full of yellow because they were all Fenerbahce fans, and the experience was amazing. Obviously, I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but I think that was the year in my career when I established myself as a player. So, for me, it was a really important year, and obviously to get to the Final Four with that team... If you look back now at the roster, you understand why we made it to the Final Four. But at that moment, no one was expecting us to be there." 

"This year, with the fans and everything back in the arena, I think it's going to be amazing."

Hanga was a tad older than Tornike Shengelia and Mike James, among others, as they went on that magic carpet ride to Berlin with Baskonia. The next season, EuroLeague head coaches recognized Hanga with the Best Defender Trophy. Then, he moved to Barcelona for four years, culminating in the team's runner-up finish at last season's Final Four in Cologne, Germany. In contrast to his first Final Four experience, however, Hanga was barely used in last season's championship game, which Barcelona lost to Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Final Four Interview: Adam Hanga, Real Madrid

"If you talk about possibilities of winning the Final Four, winning the title, last year I was pretty close to it," Hanga recounts. "Obviously, it was really unfortunate that I couldn't play that many minutes. But you know, I've always been a team player and I always try to be a good teammate. And my goal was always to win as a team. Last year, I was at a moment of the season when I was not one of the most important players in Barcelona, so I accepted it. It was obviously tough; everybody has character and, obviously, I wanted to play. But I accepted it and I was the one going crazy on the bench for 40 minutes in the final."

When his contract with Barcelona ended, Hanga was snapped up by Real to bring his proven defensive pedigree to the backcourt. Hanga plugged right into head coach Pablo Laso's rotation and has started 24 of the 29 games he has played this season.

"The adjustment was easy because I played against Madrid so many times in the past 10 years that I kind of knew everybody. I kind of knew the system. I kind of knew what they want to do," Hanga explains. "So, for me, it was like the easiest transition to come from Barcelona to Real Madrid."

"El Clasico in the semifinals, I think it's huge. I think it's huge for EuroLeague, it's huge for basketball, it's huge for us."

His old and new teams jockeyed for the top two spots in the EuroLeague standings until Real struggled down the home stretch of the regular season and tumbled to fourth place. That presumed a tougher playoffs matchup with fifth-place Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, which was as hot as Real was cold late in the season. Nonetheless, Real found its mojo and registered the only playoffs sweep of any series as Hanga's averages soared to 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals. In just 21:49 minutes per game, roughly 3 more than until the playoffs, he more than doubled his performance index rating to 13.0.

"Throughout that bad period, already we were saying to ourselves that we knew we were going to get through it. Obviously, this happens sometimes for teams; the only thing was that for us, it was pretty long. It's like we looked pretty desperate to get out of that hole. But the confidence, we had it from the very beginning," Hanga said. 

Spalding Dunk of the Night: Hanga hammer!

"Nobody sees inside our locker room. Nobody sees what's going on. People might see what's going on on the court, or what we tell to the press. But nobody sees what's going on in the locker room. And in the locker room, I think we were always confident.

"And I think we came back at the best moment, to be honest. Right before the playoffs, we got together one last time. We had a barbecue at Rudy \[Fernandez\]'s house. We talked about it again, and we came through. So, that's all that matters." 

Another part of Real's story this season has been losing to Barcelona, its semifinal opponent on Friday in Belgrade in what will be just the third such El Clásico in Final Four history. 

"It's no secret that they've had the upper hand in the last five games they beat us, including the Spanish League and Spanish Cup final," Hanga says. "So obviously, they have found a way in which they could beat us. And we have to find the way that we can beat them. As we all know, it's one game, so defense is going to be key. Apart from that: physicality, concentration. Obviously, the team that's going to make less mistakes is going to make it to the final." 

It is safe to say that Hanga is unlikely to be cheerleading for much of the semifinal on Friday. But neither is he distracted by the idea of showing his old team what they are missing. Rather, he is keen to keep his eyes on the only major prize that has eluded him in his rise from relative anonymity to EuroLeague standard-bearer. 

"This year, to be honest, I was not thinking about revenge or anything like this. I was focusing on the task ahead of us, which for us at Real Madrid was making it to the Final Four. This was the only thing on my mind," Hanga says. "Even now that I know we are going to play against Barcelona, and all of my friends and a lot of people are asking me, 'Do you feel like revenge?', I say, 'No, to be honest, I don't really feel anything like this.' The only thing I feel is that I want to win because I want to lift the title. But it has nothing to do with Barcelona. If we have to go through Barcelona, so be it."

Swingman James Anderson represents all that’s special about the defending champs as a one-time elite scorer who has embraced a much-different supporting role during his four seasons with Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

James Anderson, Efes: 'Whatever it takes for me to impact the team'

Those who are first seeing Anderson play today may not know what a talented scorer he can be. The 33-year-old small forward led his conference in scoring in college, was a double-digit scorer during one of his seasons in the NBA and was among the top 10 scorers in the EuroLeague in his first season in the competition, in 2014-15 with Zalgiris Kaunas. 

“In the past, I would go into the game thinking about how to score, I'm pretty sure the same way that Shane [Larkin] and Vasa [Micic], knowing that they’re going in trying to figure out how to beat the trap or where they're going to get their shots or where they're going to come from,” Anderson explained. “Now I feel like my approach is just trying to affect the game defensively and look to score when I have a chance and when I can be aggressive and it’s definitely a different approach.”

Members of the Efes coaching staff and his teammates credit Anderson for being a team-first guy on and off the court. What makes the transition in role even more impressive is that Anderson himself didn’t see it coming. 

“I was still in the mindset of scoring the ball and just being aggressive in that manner,” Anderson said of his thinking when he signed with Efes in the summer of 2018. “Coming here with so many guys made it impossible to play the same way that I was playing. So I just took the time to help develop the role of whatever it takes for me to impact the team…

“We mostly call on our guards to score and they get most of the balls, so I had to find another way to impact the game. Once I'm called on to score and I see the opportunity, that's when I try and take the opportunity. But I really don't try to force and go after a bucket like I normally used to do. So I just started trying to figure out other ways to impact the game and be on the court.” 

"It's a great group of guys. We have no issues off the court. Everyone gets along. Everybody puts their egos to the side... It's definitely a recipe to make it to the championship."

How dramatic was the change in Anderson’s game? At his peak as a scorer, he was among the best in the game. Anderson scored a career-high 37 points in college at Oklahoma St. University, notched 36 in the NBA with Philadelphia and netted 27 in his first EuroLeague season with Zalgiris. This season, Anderson had seven games in which he attempted just 1 field goal and five in which he did not attempt any. In Game 3 of the playoffs against AX Armani Exchange Milan, Anderson played 24:15 and impacted the game through defense with 3 steals, but did not attempt a single field goal!

Of course, that scoring touch does come in handy when needed. Anderson scored 11 points in 7 minutes off the bench in Round 27 to help his team to a rout of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and with Micic sidelined in the regular-season finale, Anderson stepped up with 12 points on excellent shooting. He set a career-best in three-point shooting accuracy this season by making 47.6% of his attempts from deep. 

“I feel like there's certain times where I feel like I can be aggressive. There’s times where after the game I go back and look at the game where I take on myself because I feel like I wasn't aggressive enough. That's usually most of the cases, not being aggressive enough,” Anderson explained before adding that his teammates often want him to shoot more. “They are definitely encouraging me and telling me to be more aggressive. It's mostly on me to know when and not to wait on it to come and go out and actually search for a shot or be aggressive attacking the basket.”

Final Four Interview: James Anderson, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Anderson deflects credit for his role in making Efes one of the league’s top teams over his tenure there. However, he is quick to praise his teammates, coaches and club management. 

“We have a great group of high-character guys who, like I said, even from the top with Shane and Vasa, no one has an ego. We all hold each other accountable to play our role and do what we have to do to win,” Anderson said. “It can literally be anybody who beats you from one all the way through. We have such an amazing group of guys who do so many different things and everybody on the team can shoot the ball and can score in bunches. It's just a matter of how the game is played and whose night it is.

“[Coach Ataman] and the GM get a lot of credit. It's a great group of guys. We have no issues off the court. Everyone gets along. Everybody puts their egos to the side. So anytime you can do that and build the chemistry that we have, it's definitely a recipe to make it to the championship.”

There is one more piece to the puzzle that Anderson said Efes needs to complete their historic run by winning back-to-back EuroLeague championships: the support of the Efes fans at the Final Four in Belgrade. 

“Last year we had no fans and there was a different atmosphere and this year it will be different. We have a different team to face against so it'll be different approach. We got to put last year in the past and try to get this one this year,” he said. “We definitely need all our fans to come out and support us because Olympiacos will have a lot of fans.”

James Anderson - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB21

Felipe Reyes retired last summer after 17 consecutive seasons with Real Madrid as one of the most decorated big men in basketball history and the embodiment of the character that marked a new generation of success at the world-renowned club.

Legend: Felipe Reyes, Real Madrid 

Reyes started his career with Estudiantes Madrid before moving across the Spanish capital in 2004 and becoming team captain during Real's resurgence in continental club basketball. 

Reyes first helped Real get back to the Euroleague by taking the EuroCup title in 2007. He was a major protagonist as Real reached the 2011 Final Four, the club's first appearance in the EuroLeague's signature event in 15 years. And he remained one of the team's pillars under head coach Pablo Laso during Real's streak of three consecutive EuroLeague Championship Games between 2013 to 2015. 

 After losses in the title game against Olympiacos Piraeus in 2013 and Maccabi Tel Aviv after overtime in 2014, Reyes memorably lifted the EuroLeague trophy as team captain in 2015 before Real's home fans in the Spanish capital. Its first continental crown in 20 years remains one of the most iconic moments in club history. It was also one of the best seasons ever for Reyes, who was voted to the 2014-15 All-EuroLeague First Team.

Reyes would be a key part of Real's run of three more Final Fours from 2017 to 2019, culminating in another EuroLeague title in 2018, when he raised the trophy again on the court at Stark Arena in Belgrade. He would finish his career in 2021 as the EuroLeague's all-time leader in offensive rebounds (705) and the second-best in total boards (1,799). He still ranks among the top 10 players all-time in games played (357), points (3,029) and performance index rating (3,775), as well. 

In addition to their EuroLeague success together, Reyes helped Real win eight Spanish League and six Spanish Cup titles. He was also a regular on Spanish national teams that claimed gold medals at the World Cup and three EuroBaskets, plus two silvers and one bronze each at the Olympic Games and EuroBasket.

A model of hustle and commitment, Felipe Reyes left everything on the court to earn the eternal gratitude of Real Madrid fans.

One of the most beloved FC Barcelona players ever, Juan Carlos Navarro, is among the biggest stars in the history of European basketball, as well.

Legend: Juan Carlos Navarro, FC Barcelona

From the outskirts of Barcelona where he grew up, Navarro rose to become one of the continent's most prolific scorers ever and to lift his hometown club to its greatest heights during two stints – each a decade-long – wearing the Blaugrana jersey. 
 
Navarro left a mark on basketball with his trademark "la bomba" shot, while the countless baskets he scored and victories his teams achieved made him a winner like few others in the sport.
 
Navarro is the only player to lift both of Barcelona's EuroLeague trophies to date. He did it for the first time as a 22-year-old in 2003 before a home crowd that had been waiting a long time for that very moment. The club's second EuroLeague title came in Paris in 2010, when Navarro was voted the Final Four MVP, one after he had been chosen the 2008-09 EuroLeague MVP, as well.
 
From 2000 until 2018, while leading Barcelona to eight Final Fours, Navarro achieved milestones that few players in EuroLeague history can imagine. At the time of his retirement, he was the EuroLeague's all-time leading scorer, with 4,152 points, ranking first as well in performance index rating (3,890) and games played (341). To this day, he remains the EuroLeague's career leader in three-pointers made (623).
 
Navarro was an All-EuroLeague First Team selection a record five times and the only player named to both EuroLeague All-Decade Teams this century. He also has a pair of All-EuroLeague Second Team selections and three MVP of the Month awards to his name.
 
Navarro was successful wherever he played, leading Barca to 20 domestic titles in Spain and helping the team win the 1999 Korac Cup. He was also an instrumental part of the Spanish national teams that won the 2006 World Cup, three Olympic medals – silvers at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, bronze at Rio 2016 – and seven EuroBasket medals, including three golds.
 
Shortly after he retired, Navarro was honored as a EuroLeague Basketball Legend. He soon saw his number 11 retired by Barcelona and raised to the rafters at Palau Blaugrana. A legend in his city and beyond, Navarro today continues his special relationship with Barcelona as its general director.

The late Dusan Ivkovic, one of the best and most successful coaches in European basketball history, led Olympiacos Piraeus to the first two of its three EuroLeague titles to date. 

Legend: Dusan Ivkovic, Olympiacos Piraeus 

Ivkovic, who passed away in September of 2021, coached at 12 pro clubs in five different decades, from his native Serbia to Croatia, Greece, Russia and Turkey. He also led the Yugoslav and Serbian national teams in three different decades. His first international club title came with Partizan Belgrade, the 1979 Korac Cup. But by the time "Duda" first joined Olympiacos in 1996, he had already coached Yugoslavia to the 1990 World Cup and 1989 and 1991 EuroBasket gold medals, as well as winning silver at the 1988 Olympic Games. 

In his first season with Olympiacos, Ivkovic guided the Reds to a triple crown of the EuroLeague, Greek League and Greek Cup titles. Olympiacos defeated FC Barcelona 73-58 in the 1997 EuroLeague Championship Game for the club's first continental crown after having come up short in the 1994 and 1995 finals.

Between then and his second stint with Olympiacos, starting in 2010, Ivkovic would add the Saporta Cup title with AEK Athens in 2000, lead CSKA Moscow to three EuroLeague Final Four appearances between 2003 and 2005, and take the 2006 EuroCup crown with Dynamo Moscow, making him the first head coach to win as many as four different European trophies.

Ivkovic was 68 years old when he inspired the Reds to their second EuroLeague crown in 2012, exactly 15 years after their first such title together. Ivkovic was the mastermind behind Olympiacos's comeback win in the 2012 EuroLeague Championship Game against CSKA Moscow in Istanbul. The Reds rallied from a 19-point deficit in 11 minutes to capture the title, 61-62, on a last-second shot by Georgios Printezis in what instantly became one of the most iconic moments in European basketball history.

A dean of the coaching profession, Ivkovic was a beloved teacher to his players and one of the most respected tacticians in European basketball. His place as a cherished father figure in the legacy of Olympiacos Piraeus basketball is assured forever.

Aydin Ors was the head coach who put Anadolu Efes Istanbul on the European basketball map in the 1990s. 

Legend: Aydin Ors, Anadolu Efes Istanbul 

Ors joined Efes in 1981 as a youth coach and a decade later, in 1992, took over the bench of the senior team. Before Ors became head coach, Efes had won just three Turkish League titles and had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals group stage in any European competition.
 
Ors immediately led Efes to a Turkish League championship and reached the 1993 Saporta Cup final. They lost 50-48 against Aris Thessaloniki that night, but the fuse of ambition to go far in European competition had been lit at Efes.
 
Coach Ors guided Efes to an undefeated 1992-93 season in the Turkish League and was on the bench when Efes made its EuroLeague debut in the 1993-94 season, coming within a single win of reaching the Final Four. Ors would guide Efes to Turkish League and Turkish Cup doubles in 1994, 1996 and 1997 and to another Turkish Cup in 1998, by which time the club was already making Turkish basketball history at an international level.
 
The club's most memorable achievement of that era came during the 1995-96 season when Efes lifted the Korac Cup, Europe's second-tier competition at the time. In doing so, Efes became the first Turkish club in any major team sport to win a European title. With Petar Naumoski, Conrad McRae, Ufuk Sarica and a young Mirsad Turkcan as his key players, Efes beat Olimpija Milan in the two-game, total-points finals on an aggregate score of 146-145 to change Turkish basketball forever.
 
Ors would go on to lead Efe to three more playoff appearances in the EuroLeague before he left the club early in the 1999-2000 season. He was replaced by Ergin Ataman, who took the team to the 2000 EuroLeague Final Four, another first for a Turkish club, later the same season. Ors soon led the Turkish national team to a historic silver medal at EuroBasket 2001 and eventually coached Fenerbahce Istanbul, as well.
 
Ataman and Oktay Mahmuti, another of his former assistants, have coached Efes for the better part of the last two decades, showing that the legacy of success that he brought to the club can still be felt today thanks to the inspirational influence of the great Aydin Ors. 

It’s fair to say that Dante Exum’s season has worked out much better than he initially feared might be the case.

Dante Exum, Barcelona: 'I think I adjusted well' 

The Australian guard was cut by Houston Rockets in mid-October and he spent the next few weeks not knowing where or when his next destination would be. The answer came in early December when FC Barcelona had been hit by injuries to backcourt stars Nick Calathes and Cory Higgins and needed an experienced player who could immediately contribute. The name they identified was Dante Exum.

Recalling that time, Exum said: “I was just working out, staying patient and being ready, trying to not stress out too much. My agent was talking to clubs. We were looking at NBA clubs and seeing what the options were but I didn’t want to end up on a team where I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play. 

“So we started looking at Europe and Barcelona had a few injuries then so they were looking for a player and it worked out. As soon as the possibility arose I jumped on it. I was excited to get out here and start playing.”

"The fans are just unbelievable... Until you’re actually playing in it, you don’t fully understand it.”

Before committing himself to that move, though, Exum was able to receive advice from a compatriot who had experience playing for the Blaugrana. 

“I’ve talked to a few people over the years about playing in Europe, like Brock Motum when we’ve played together for Australia,” he revealed. “But the person I talked to the most was Joe Ingles, because obviously he played in Barcelona, won the EuroLeague, and played with Saras. So he was good to talk to and see his opinions. It was very interesting.”

Once he got Ingles’s blessing and landed in Spain to sign his new contract, Exum was not given the luxury of time to acclimate himself. Due to the team’s injury problems, he was put straight into the firing line and, within a couple of days of arriving, made his EuroLeague debut with a solid 13 minutes in a home win against a rather significant opponent.

“My first game was El Clasico!” he laughed. “I was jet-lagged, I wasn’t sleeping. I was in a hotel, I did not know anybody…I had no clue, I was just thrown into the deep end. It was the whole nine yards!

“But I just wanted to be myself. They knew what kind of player I am, what kind of player they had signed. So I wasn’t going to try to come here and do anything crazy. It’s always hard coming into a new team mid-season – seeing where you fit, where you gel, learning new plays, a new style. Not only getting to know my teammates but everybody around you, the whole club and a different league. So it was definitely an adjustment, but I think I adjusted well.”

Exum very quickly realized that the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is unlike any other basketball competition he had ever experienced. In fact, he was given prior notice about what to expect from his new coach.

“Saras said this to me when I spoke to him on the phone right before I came over,” he reveals. “He said that my Olympics bronze medal game \[which he won with Australia in the 2020 Olympics\], every night in the EuroLeague is going to be like that! And it’s been the most truthful statement I’ve ever heard! You travel to all these cities, everyone’s excited, the fans are excited, and every game there’s immense pressure, immense crowd. I love the crowd, I love hearing the chants and everything.

“Obviously, being in the NBA you travel from state to state. But then I came over here and my first trip was to Red Star and then we went to Panathinaikos. And I’m sitting on the bench trying to talk to one of my teammates and they can’t hear me because the crowd is just going crazy. And this is a Tuesday game during the regular season! So it was just amazing to experience different cultures, how they play basketball, and the fans are just unbelievable. In a way, I expected it because you can watch videos and see it online. But until you’re actually playing in it, you don’t fully understand it.”

Exum’s initial contract with Barca only lasted until the end of February, but he made such a strong impact during those initial weeks that it became obvious the club would want to keep him beyond that date. And so it transpired with the all-action Australian agreeing to extend his contract until the end of the season.

He was delighted to stay, saying: “Signing until February, I knew all the players would be back, but they asked me if I wanted to stay so I was like ‘Yep, let’s keep going!’ With the potential of the team and where we’re going, I wanted to be a part of it. And it was nice that they wanted me to stay here.”

"With the potential of the team and where we’re going, I wanted to be a part of it."

That decision was definitely well received by Barca fans, who quickly appreciated Exum’s dynamic playing style and adopted him as one of their own. 

“The fans have shown me the most amount of love,” he smiled. “They chant my name during games and it’s an unbelievable feeling. Obviously there are ups and downs in a season, but fans want to see that you’re trying and that you care. I’ve been through a lot of injuries so I’ve sat on the sidelines a lot, and one thing I always try to pride myself on is trying 100%, showing the passion and that I want to win.”

In particular, Exum’s ability to unleash spectacular individual plays – such as his dunk of the season contender during Game 1 of the playoffs series against FC Bayern Munich – is always likely to make him a big fan favorite. And he admitted that he enjoys executing those plays just as much as the fans enjoy watching them, saying: “It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t even explain it! When you make a big play and the crowd is going wild, you just want to pump up the crowd, throw your hands up, do everything to interact with the crowd. And they love that, they love it when the players get into it.

“Obviously I also have a job to do, and have to stay as focussed as possible and try to move onto the next play. But I think those plays help the team as well. When you make a big play, everybody gets motivated.”

Now that he is heading to the Final Four, Exum admitted that becoming EuroLeague champion would rival anything he has achieved in his career – especially after learning what it would mean to his teammates after they finished as runners-up last season.

“This would be up there, right there with the bronze medal,” he said. “Obviously that meant a lot for Australian basketball, their first-ever Olympics medal. But coming over here, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve watched a lot of past EuroLeague games and I understand what European basketball means. I love the uniqueness of the Final Four – just two more games and then you’re the champion. Some people say, ‘Oh, just two games, that’s so much easier \[than a series\],’ but no! Every game is decided with one or two possessions, and you need to make sure that over two games, that’s you. 

“I have talked to a lot of the guys about last year and I see in their eyes how much they want it, how much it means to them. So it’s definitely something I want to be a part of.”