After winning back-to-back EuroLeague championships in 2021 and 2022, Anadolu Efes Istanbul fell off the mountain last season when it failed to reach the playoffs. What followed was a quick rebuild as Efes hired the EuroCup Coach of the Year, kept several stars from the glory years and enhanced them with a handful of new talents hungry to taste the high life.
The big guns
The Efes attack begins with the guards where three returnees set the tone. Shane Larkin is a pre-season candidate to lead the league in scoring and claim the MVP trophy. Rodrigue Beaubois and Elijah Bryant are impact players at both ends of the floor who can win games with big shots and defensive stops.
Center Tibor Pleiss is also a returnee from the championship teams and he will share the paint with Ante Zizic who is back for a second consecutive season in Istanbul. Two-time All-EuroLeague selection Will Clyburn won his championship elsewhere and now looks for one with Efes as a dynamic do-it-all forward.
The agents of change
Up and down the roster Efes made changes that should have the team playing in the tough defense, exciting attack image of Coach Erdem Can. Point guard Darius Thompson led the league in assists last season as a EuroLeague rookie with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and was named to the All-EuroLeague team.
Outstanding athletes Tyrique Jones and Derek Willis are both coming up from the EuroCup to leave their marks. Point guard Justus Hollatz entered camp on a high after helping Germany win the Basketball World Cup and swingman Erkan Yilmaz is another EuroLeague newcomer at Coach Can's disposal.
Between the culture of winning that remains from the core players and the hunger of the newcomers, both on the bench and on the hardwood, Efes fans have plenty of reasons for optimism as this season begins.