Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
If we look at the past five editions of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, not including the discontinued 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anadolu Efes and Real Madrid have dominated the titles, winning four out of five.
The Turkish and Spanish powerhouses won the EuroLeague in 2018 (Real), 2021 (Efes), 2022 (Efes), and 2023 (Real), with only CSKA Moscow ruining their party in 2019 against Efes in the final. Now, after experiencing very different summers, they will meet in a battle of champions to open Round 2 on Thursday.
Let’s zoom in on the clash at Sinan Erdem Spor Salonu, which despite changes on both rosters still includes key figures from their recent triumphs.
Trying to open a new chapter in Anadolu Efes
Taking a look now at the 2017-18 season for Anadolu Efes seems surreal. Without names like Shane Larkin or Vasilije Micic, the Turkish team – first coached by Velimir Perasovic and, from December, by Ergin Ataman – didn’t click whatsoever, ending the regular season in last place with a 7-23 record.
However, by building a strong core with players from different backgrounds, it took the Turkish mastermind only one year to bring the team back to the top. Efes may have lost the 2019 championship game in Vitoria-Gasteiz to CSKA Moscow, but the best was yet to come.
Efes dominated for the vast majority of the following season before the pandemic denied it the opportunity to lift the trophy in 2020. But Ataman and his players found redemption the following year, winning it all at Lanxess Arena in Cologne for the first EuroLeague title by Efes. After they scored a historic repeat title in Belgrade in 2022, the latest, golden Ataman Era at Efes ended with a failure to reach the playoffs last season.
As the Turkish head coach decided to try bringing Panathinaikos back to its glory days, the blue side of Istanbul opened a new chapter with former Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can, who brought with him Tyrique Jones and Erkan Yilmaz after being runner-up in the BKT EuroCup. They joined last season’s star addition for Efes, Will Clyburn, and this year’s blockbuster transfer, Darius Thompson.
However, while Coach Ataman and Micic are missing, the Efes roster retains illustrious members of the back-to-back title teams. Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, and Tibor Pleiss have been with the team since 2019, lifting both trophies, while Elijah Bryant and Erten Gazi won the second title with them. Just by having Larkin, Beaubois, and Pleiss, Efes has a huge foundation to build on.
Sometimes you just need one more piece
Entering the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, few were expecting new Real head coach Chus Mateo’s unit to play – and win – the final game of the season in his first-ever head-coaching nod after a decade next to Pablo Laso.
Not only did Mateo accomplish that, however, but he did so by balancing a roster that still includes some club icons but was infused with young blood last year. Dzanan Musa and Mario Hezonja were added to the core of stars that were present, in most cases, when Real won its previous title in 2018.
Sergio Llull, of course, was there and, like him, Rudy Fernandez is a three-time champion with Real. Fabien Causeur and Walter Tavares are also two-time champs, being with the team both in 2018 and 2023.
Real’s marquee signing of the last summer, Facundo Campazzo, may have missed the Final Four in Kaunas last spring, but he had worn the team’s jersey in the 2018 triumph and that makes his move to the Spanish capital this summer even more dangerous. He felt he belonged in Real and the club was practically waiting for him, spending the whole of last season practically with an opening at point guard and, despite that, winning the trophy.
Another point guard, Sergio Rodriguez had once left Real and returned, stringing together two titles between the one in 2015 that was the club’s first in 20 years and that of last spring.
The legacy continues
So if you have to watch just one game this week, the choice is pretty simple. The champs and the former champs are facing each other in Turkey. And even if it’s early in the season, this game might end up being an omen for things to come.
And while the EuroLeague is becoming increasingly competitive every year, both teams no matter who is wearing their jersey remain contenders. That goes without saying, especially when modern icons from both sides will be again stepping on the court.