By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s reign after two back-to-back titles, one more Final Four, and a big what-if in the season which ended prematurely due to COVID, is officially over. However, the stamp of this version of Anadolu Efes on European basketball will be remembered for years to come.
Despite missing out on a historic three-peat, Anadolu Efes not only won but did it by presenting a free-flowing game that could break the back of any opponent. Ergin Ataman created an environment that gave unusual European standards of freedom to his players and the end result was one of the most spectacular EuroLeague teams ever.
Even if you don’t want to call them a dynasty, then you can’t but accept their on-court excellence, and here are five games that will be remembered for a long time.
FC Barcelona-Anadolu Efes 68-102 (April 24, 2019)
Anadolu Efes had just lost the home-court advantage in the playoffs with Barcelona getting a 74-72 road win in Istanbul for the second game of the series. Nobody expected what happened next.
Efes led by as many as 37 points after three quarters (84-57), Shane Larkin had 30 points – after having scored 37 against Barcelona almost two months earlier in their regular season game of Istanbul – and the hosts simply couldn’t keep up.
It was a one-team show that included even a 25-1 run by Efes, which for the first time emerged not just as a title contender, but as a team that can leave their mark on the history of the EuroLeague.
When everything was said and done, Barcelona managed to take the series to Game 5, however, that night in Spain, Efes for the first time demonstrated their full team abilities on the offensive end, finishing the game with 25 assists, shooting 74% on two-pointers and 44% on threes on the road.