Red-hot Olympiacos (18-11) will look to make it seven straight wins with a trip to Efes (12-17), which is battling hard for a place in the top 10.
Game Notes: Efes vs. Olympiacos
Lucky charm Moses Wright has won all six of his games for the Reds, netting a team-high 19 points on perfect two-point shooting in last week’s derby win over Panathinaikos, and the task of slowing him down falls to Efes big man Tyrique Jones, who has double-digit scoring in three of the last four games. Olympiacos relied on stingy defense to claim a comfortable win, 75-57, when the teams met in October, with dependable veteran Kostas Papanikolaou providing 14 points and 7 rebounds. This matchup has been remarkably close over the years, with 24 wins apiece in their 48 meetings this century, but the Reds haven't won in Istanbul since 2017.
- The home team has won six straight regular-season games between Olympiacos and Efes.
- Efes pulled out a 77-74 win in the 2022 Final Four semifinals on a last-second three-pointer by Vasilije Micic.
- When the two teams met in Istanbul in March 2020, Shane Larkin earned his record-tying sixth MVP of the Round honor in a single season. In a 91-79 win, Larkin scored 40 points, becoming the first player this century with two 40-point games to his name, while also tying the EuroLeague single-game mark by downing 10 of 15 attempts from long distance. He also collected 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds, accumulating a performance index rating of 44.
- These teams contested a thrilling playoff series in the 2016-17 season. Efes took a 2-1 lead, but Olympiacos bounced back to win 3-2 and advance to the Final Four. The decisive fifth game saw Vassilis Spanoulis score 22 points in an 87-78 victory.
- Olympiacos and Efes battled for a Final Four spot in the 2013 playoffs, too. Efes had a 15-point lead in do-or-die Game 5, but Olympiacos came back, won the series and went on to lift the trophy.
- The Efes single-game record for blocks is 6, which Marcus Haislip set against Olympiacos on January 17, 2007.
- In February 2021 in Istanbul, Shane Larkin had 21 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds for a PIR 32, which earned him MVP of the Round honors in a 76-53 win over Olympiacos.
- Olympiacos forward Alec Peters was a teammate of Efes forward Will Clyburn at CSKA Moscow. They were together in the 2018-19 season and won the 2019 EuroLeague title together.
- Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov and Efes forward Will Clayburn were teammates at CSKA Moscow from 2020 to 2022.
- Olympiacos's Michalis Lountzis posted his career highs in PIR (18), points (13) and rebounds (7) in a 76-70 home win in February 2023.
- Olympiacos's Ignas Brazdeikis posted his career highs in PIR (25) and points (23) playing for Zalgiris Kaunas against Efes in February 2023.
- Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov blocked a career-high 3 shots for CSKA Moscow against Efes in February 2022.
- Darius Thompson grabbed a career-high 8 rebounds for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz against Olympiacos in April of last season.
- Efes guard Rodrigue Beaubois netted 29 points on a career-best 7 three-point shots made in a home win over Olympiacos in November 2021.
- Elijah Bryant collected a career-high 3 steals in an 87-85 overtime loss against Olympiacos in Piraeus in February 2022, and also in a loss in Piraeus last season.
- Efes center Tibor Pleiss matched his career-best with 4 blocks playing for Valencia Basket against Olympiacos in November 2017.
- Olympiacos guard Giannoulis Larentzakis dished a career-high 8 assists in a road loss against Efes in February 2021.