Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul missed the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs after six consecutive appearances. Let's take a look back at what happened in the 2021-22 season.
Season in review: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
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Biggest win
Fenerbahce had arguably one of the best defensive efforts in the 2021-22 EuroLeague in Round 4 against UNICS Kazan, registering an 80-41 victory. UNICS's 41 points were an all-time club low and its PIR of 16 easily was worse than the 39 from the January 26, 2017 loss against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Another new club low was 28.9% on two-pointers. Fenerbahce won all four quarters and led 44-22 at halftime. Marial Shayok led the winners with 17 points, Devin Booker added 16 and Nando De Colo 13. It was a truly impressive performance.
He's next
Sehmus Hazer made his EuroLeague debut this season and at age 23, he proved he has a lot of offer in the competition. Hazer had to adjust to a new role coming off the bench but was a solid contributor, averaging 4.8 points on 60.8% two-point shooting and 1.1 assists in 25 games. He arguably provided Fenerbahce's biggest highlight this season - a huge dunk in traffic off a midcourt steal in a Round 22 game against Zalgiris Kaunas. Hazer is set to keep providing highlights - and growing as a player - in the upcoming EuroLeague season.
What if
No Fenerbahce player was present in all of his team's 31 showdowns - Achille Polonara played in 30 games. In Round 17, Fenerbahce lost both of its stars, De Colo and Jan Vesely, to injuries. Fenerbahce kept winning without them but eventually ran out of gas and went on a six-game losing streak that prevented the team from reaching the playoffs. Players like Shayok, Danilo Barthel and Ahemt Duverioglu missed many games due to injuries. If Fenerbahce had stayed healthier, it would have had a better chance to go past the regular season.
Impressive numbers
Vesely was at his best level this season, posting even better numbers than in the 2018-19 campaign, in which he earned EuroLeague MVP honors. Vesely averaged career-highs of 13.6 points and 18.2 PIR, hitting 63.1% of his two-point shots and 73.3% from the foul line. Vesely had three double-doubles against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, AS Monaco and FC Bayern Munich. He also had one of the best games of his career in a Round 14 road victory against Zenit St Petersburg - 32 points - a new personal-best- on 9-of-11 two-pointers, 2-of-3 triples and a PIR of 35.