JERSEY RETIREMENT: Krunoslav Simon, who spent the past five seasons with Anadolu Efes Istanbul helping it win two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles, was honored on Thursday night in Istanbul having his No.44 jersey retired under the roof of Sinan Erdem Dome.
"Krunoslav Simon is a great character, great winner, great player, great guy", Efes head coach Ergin Ataman praised his former player on Thursday. Simon also helped Efes win two Turkish Leagues, two Turkish Cups and a pair of Turkish SuperCup titles.
"He gave a lot for this club and for European basketball. He was one of our key players in the last three years that we dominated the EuroLeague", Ataman added, hinting he would not mind if 37-year old Simon would still be wearing his Efes jersey, instead seeing it hanging from the rafters. "He stopped to play with Efes too early, but he wanted to go back to his county. I am very happy and I am proud of one of my players to be in a historic Efes club. It is good for him, very good for the club and I am proud to have such player in all this success."
After Efes beat Olympiacos on Thursday, team was not going to break the winning huddle until Simon joined them mid-court.
"Kruno's jersey retirement is a crazy achievement, a big congrats to him", said Vasilije Micic, his backcourt mate for four years. Micic also took to social media to congratulate one of his best friends.