The Fenerbahce guard came up big against Efes to secure the win for his team.
The Nick Calathes redemption arc continued in the Istanbul derby
Nick Calathes has had a tough few months.
First, it looked like Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul was going to part ways with the legendary point guard last summer when it signed Raul Neto, only for the Brazilian to suffer an injury at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. As such, Calathes was forced to stick around.
Then, following the surprising dismissal of Dimitris Itoudis, Calathes was reunited with his former head coach at FC Barcelona, Saras Jasikevicius. Infamously, the two didn’t leave on the best of terms during the 34-year-old’s final year at Palau Blaugrana, so many thought the appointment of Jasikevicius would spell the end of Calathes’s time in Istanbul. But, instead, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time leading assists provider is thriving under the Lithuanian tactician.
Calathes came to the fore in the Istanbul derby
That was particularly evident during Thursday night’s Istanbul derby, as Calathes came up clutch for Fenerbahce in an 84-89 win at cross-city rival Anadolu Efes Istanbul. In 25:40 minutes on the floor, the Greece international recorded 17 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists and 3 steals, good for a 24 PIR, while he also had a +9 in the plus/minus category.
Importantly, in the closing stages of the contest, Calathes showed up to halt Efes’s momentum and all but silence the crowd inside Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. His dish to fellow backcourt starter Scottie Wilbekin, who drained a three-pointer, saw Fenerbahce regain the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter with just over 5 minutes to go. From there, it became the Calathes show.
It's worth noting that Calathes had made just 8 triples coming into Thursday evening’s contest, but he already had 1 from beyond the arc early in the first quarter and another deep two in the opening 10 minutes, which was centimeters away from being a three. So, with that in mind, Calathes appearing with 2 clutch threes in the fourth quarter wouldn’t have been predicted by many beforehand. Yet, it happened.
Silencing the Efes crowd
As the shot clock wound down to the final seconds, Calathes came back out and sized up Shane Larkin before knocking down a deep, deep three over the Efes guard’s outstretched arm to make it 78-82 with 3:46 left. That was a big momentum swing, but what came next proved to be the dagger.
Tarik Biberovic received a pass from Georgios Papagiannis and quickly found an open Calathes on the perimeter, before Fenerbahce’s No. 33 hit his second triple of the fourth quarter to set an 82-87 score with 29.2 seconds remaining. The collective sigh in the Efes gym was palpable, while the Fenerbahce players all came together in celebration.
Fenerbahce managed to see an 84-89 win over the line, and afterward Calathes was embraced by his teammates. From being ushered towards the exit to coming up with game-winning plays in the Istanbul derby, the veteran guard has shown that he not only has incredible talent but an equally impressive force of will.
It hasn’t been an easy few months for Calathes, but he continues to go from strength to strength under Jasikevicius. And on Thursday evening, another page was written in the Calathes redemption arc story.