Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has become the seventh team to book its place in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs! In head coach Dimitris Itoudis's first campaign in charge, Fenerbahce has returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence despite a 91-89 overtime defeat at Crvena Zvezda Medianbet Belgrade on Thursday of Round 34. Fenerbahce must wait until Friday to know its final place in the standings and its playoffs opponent.
Road to playoffs
After an offseason that saw a flurry of new arrivals, including Coach Itoudis, Nick Calathes, Scottie Wilbekin and Johnathan Motley, among others, Fenerbahce came flying out of the blocks and won its first five games to lead the standings with a 5-0 record. The last of those victories came on the road at back-to-back reigning champion and Efes, 79-88.
Fenerbahce suffered a narrow defeat at FC Barcelona in Round 6, 81-80, but it responded by winning its next four straight, including back-to-back road wins in the double-round week at Monaco and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, to improve to 9-1. Despite going 1-6 through its next seven games, Fenerbahce regrouped by recording three victories in a row, the last of which was a 98-94 triumph over Monaco that saw it win the tiebreaker.
The fans at Ulker Sports and Event Hall were treated to back-to-back 100-point games in Rounds 23 and 25 as Fenerbahce beat ALBA Berlin 101-86 and Virtus Segafredo Bologna 104-72; the only other time it broke the 100-point barrier was back in Round 12 against ALBA, 75-104. The team's home crowd were also able to witness an 81-73 win against Barca in Round 28, before a victory against Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 30 and a triumph against Efes in Round 33 saw it officially confirm its place in the playoffs.
Playoff experience
Fenerbahce enters the playoffs with championship pedigree on the bench, as Coach Itoudis has lifted the EuroLeague title on two occasions in the past: in 2016 and 2019, both with CSKA Moscow. Curiously, from the Fenerbahce team that won the EuroLeague in 2017, there is only one player still on the roster: Melih Mahmutoglu. Nick Calathes is the other Fenerbahce player with a EuroLeague winners' medal, as he became a champion with Panathinaikos Athens in 2011.
Nevertheless, despite Motley, Carsen Edwards and Devin Booker never having played in the playoffs, Fenerbahce does have plenty of players with postseason experience. The likes of Nemanja Bjelica, Calathes and Wilbekin have played in the playoffs in the past, while others such as Dorsey and Nigel Hayes-Davis featured in the Final Four last season.
Playoff history
Fenerbahce missed out on the playoffs in 2021-22 after finishing in 12th with a 10-18 record, while it was swept in the postseason by CSKA Moscow in 2020-21. Yet, its failure to reach the playoffs last season was very much a one-off, given how the team has fared in recent times. In fact, the 2017 EuroLeague champion has regularly been a playoff team and even managed to reach five successive Final Fours between 2015 and 2019.
Overall, Fenerbahce has played a total of 24 games in the playoffs, winning 15 and losing 9. Of the eight series it has played in, too, it has advanced five times and been eliminated on three occasions.
