Is this the golden age for Istanbul basketball? To answer that, let’s first settle how to define a golden age for a sports team.
The undisputable part is that a golden age needs to include reaching new heights and one might argue that doing so repeatedly is part of the requirement. Perhaps another characteristic might have to do with doing so for the first time.
For instance, when one thinks of the golden age of many of Europe’s greatest basketball teams, our minds usually wander back in time. Real Madrid is among the dominant teams of the last decade, but for many its golden age was in the 1960s with Clifford Luyk and Emiliano Rodríguez among its stars. Maccabi Tel Aviv won back-to-back EuroLeague crowns in 2004 and 2005, but for many its golden age was in the 1970s when Tal Brody and Mickey Berkowitz led the club to its first European crown. Olympiacos Piraeus enjoyed a fantastic run at the start of the previous decade behind Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis, however its golden age came when it reached four Final Fours in six seasons and won its first crown in 1997 with the likes of Milan Tomic and Panagiotis Fasoulas playing key roles.
If we accept that as the definition of “golden age,” how can we not conclude that the two kings of Istanbul basketball are enjoying concurrent golden ages?