anadolu efes · History

Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü was founded in Istanbul in 1976 as Efes Pilsen. That year the Efes Pilsen brewery, part of the Anadolu Group, took over Kadıköyspor, a Turkish second-division club that had folded because of financial problems. The brewery's name stayed on the team for 35 years. In 2011 Turkey's TAPDK regulator banned alcohol and tobacco advertising in sport, and the club became Anadolu Efes. It has won two EuroLeague titles, in 2021 and 2022, the 1996 Korać Cup and 16 Turkish championships.

From promotion to the first title

The club did not stay in the second tier for long. In 1978 it won the second division without losing a game and went up. It then won the league in its first top-flight season, 1978-79, and won it again in 1982-83 and 1983-84. From 1986 it played its home games at the Abdi İpekçi Arena. By the early 1990s it was at the top of Turkish basketball, winning the league in 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94 and its first Turkish Cup in 1994. In Europe it reached the 1993 final of the FIBA European Cup, the former Cup Winners' Cup, and lost.

The Korać Cup and the Efes Pilsen years

In 1996 Efes Pilsen became the first Turkish club to win the Korać Cup, beating Stefanel Milano in the final. The same season, 1995-96, it also won the Turkish league and cup, and it did the double again in 1996-97. Ergin Ataman had been an assistant coach from 1992 to 1996 and was head coach from 1999 to 2001. In that spell the team reached the European Final Four in 2000 and 2001 and finished third both times. Efes won four league titles in a row from 2001-02 to 2004-05. Ataman returned in 2008 and won the league and cup again in his first season. In 2010 the team moved to the Sinan Erdem Dome.

Ataman and the two EuroLeague titles

Ataman came back in 2017, and the team returned to the Sinan Erdem. At the 2019 Final Four in Vitoria, Anadolu Efes beat Fenerbahçe 92-73 in the semi-final and lost the final 91-83 to CSKA Moscow. A few weeks later it won the Turkish league by beating Fenerbahçe 89-74 in Game 7 of the finals. Shane Larkin scored 38 points and was named finals MVP. At the 2021 Final Four in Cologne, Efes beat CSKA 89-86 and then won its first EuroLeague title with an 86-81 victory over FC Barcelona. Vasilije Micić was Final Four MVP. A year later in Belgrade, the team beat Olympiacos 77-74 in the semi-final and Real Madrid 58-57 in the final. It was a second straight EuroLeague title, and Micić was MVP again. Ataman left in 2023 for Panathinaikos after winning the 2022-23 league.

Arenas and retired numbers

The Abdi İpekçi Arena, which holds 12,270, was the club's home from 1986 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2017. The Sinan Erdem Dome, which holds about 16,000, was home from 2010 to 2012 and from 2017 to 2024. Since 2024 the team has played at the Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi, an arena of about 10,000 seats. The club has retired two numbers: Petar Naumoski's 7 in 2017 and Krunoslav Simon's 44 in 2022.

Honours

Efes have won two EuroLeague titles (2021 and 2022) and the Korać Cup (1996). At home they have won 16 Turkish championships: 1978-79, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2008-09, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23. They have also won 12 Turkish Cups, between 1994 and 2022, and 14 Presidential Cups, the first in 1986 and the most recent in 2024.

Coaching changes in 2025

In July 2025 the club hired Igor Kokoškov as head coach. He was sacked on 27 November that year, and Rado Trifunović took charge as interim coach. On 13 December 2025 Anadolu Efes announced the appointment of Pablo Laso, who had won two EuroLeague titles with Real Madrid, in 2015 and 2018.