By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Vincent Poirier inked a three-year contract to join Anadolu Efes, the team announced on Tuesday.
Eurohoops confirmed his move from Real Madrid to the Istanbul outfit in late May.
Poirier, 30, followed Latvian power forward Rolands Smits in the list of summer signings for Efes, further boosting the frontline for the team coached by Tomislav Mijatovic. Besides Shane Larkin renewing his contract, Darius Thompson, Elijah Bryant, and Tyrique Jones are among other players under contract for the next season.
Behind a resurgence late in the Regular Season, Efes ended up with a balanced 17-17 W-L tally and in ninth place in the final standings. Moving to the Play-In Showdown, a home loss to Virtus Segafredo Bologna ended the continental campaign.
Completing his third EuroLeague expedition with Los Blancos, Poirier went from being crowned champion in 2023 to the wrong end of the championship game of the 2024 Final Four in Berlin’s Uber Arena. The French center tallied 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.6 assists, and 0.4 steals per contest over 37 appearances, including five starts. Combined with his stint at Kirolbet Baskonia from 2017 to 2019, the individual total of games played in Europe’s premier club continental competition went up to 174.
Switching from the EuroLeague to the NBA for two years, the French center logged 33 appearances between the Boston Celtics in 2019-20 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 2020-21. Career averages settled at 1.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.4 blocks, and 0.3 assists per contest.