Anadolu Efes Istanbul has completed the signing of Tyrique Jones on a two-year contract. Jones (26 years old, 2.06 meters) shined in the 7DAYS EuroCup with Turk Telekom Ankara last season, averaging 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.2 steals and a 19.0 PIR as his team finished as the runner-up. The center, who earned 2022-23 All-EuroCup Second Team honors and was named as the 2022-23 Turkish League MVP, now gets the chance to bring his energetic play and highlight-reel dunks to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Efes.
Efes lands Turkish League MVP Tyrique Jones
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Coming off his debut season in the EuroCup with Turk Telekom, Jones seems ready for the step up to the EuroLeague. The American began his professional career just three years ago with Korean side Wonju DB Promy, with which he signed a short-term deal, before going on to join Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. Jones made a good impact with Hapoel, averaging 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks in 16 Israeli League games, and that caught the eye of Italian outfit Victoria Libertas Pesaro. Despite moving to a new country and a new league, no acclimatization time was needed, as Jones posted averages of 13.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 33 Italian League fixtures. Then came Jones's breakout campaign with Turk Telekom, in which he dominated from the 5 position all season long, both domestically and in Europe.
Now comes his biggest test to date, as the 26-year-old prepares to come up against the best centers on the continent on a week-by-week basis. But, judging by how he has handled his professional career so far, it would be no surprise to see Jones take everything in his stride once again. Jones has the chance to once again work under Erdem Can, who was in charge of Turk Telekom last season, and they will be hoping to help Efes – the back-to-back EuroLeague champion in 2021 and 2022 – return to the top table of European basketball once again, having missed the playoffs in the 2022-23 season.