Efes' Mijatovic talks Ataman, game vs. Zvezda, and Larkin's new deal / News - Basketnews.com

Mijatovic praised Ataman for his Panathinaikos rebuilt and called Larkin a franchise player every big team in the EuroLeague should have. Recalling the last-round game against Crvena Zvezda, Mijatovic claimed Efes didn't want to run the score to a 45-point margin and said the result did not reflect the difference between the teams.

Credit: Tolga Adanali via Getty Images Credit Tolga Adanali via Getty Images

After taking over the team mid-season, Tomislav Mijatovic managed to turn Anadolu Efes Istanbul's season around. Although the team ultimately didn't make the playoffs, the club extended the contract with the Croatian head coach.

Shane Larkin

MIN:31.65PTS:16.77 (57.72%)REB:2.83As:5.06ST:1.14BL:0.06TO:1.94GM:35ProfileEuroLeague2023/2024

The last game of the Euroleague regular season featured an interesting situation. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade needed their archrivals, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, to win against Efes in Round 34 for them to have a chance at the play-in tournament. Efes ended up winning by 45 points, marking the biggest Crvena Zvezda loss in their EuroLeague history.

"I have no special comment because such games simply happen in basketball. At one point, the matchup breaks down and goes into some unreal sphere. We are not better than Crvena Zvezda by 45 points," Mijatovic said in an interview with Bruno Feliks from Basketball Sphere.

"We didn't even plan to win by a big margin. We just wanted to qualify for the playoffs. Sometimes, the game goes in a direction in which the player misses shots he wouldn't otherwise miss. We achieve something extraordinary and that's how an evening with an objectively unrealistic difference is created," the coach explained. "No one in our circle of people was focused on pushing the lead, just winning the game. The joy of winning was what was important to us."

Efes finished the EuroLeague regular season in 10th place but lost against Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the first round of the play-in tournament, missing out on a chance to play against Real Madrid in the playoffs.

While a significant number of people expected Darius Thompson to take away some of the production from him, Shane Larkin once again established himself as the leader of Efes. In the middle of the EuroLeague playoffs, the Turkish team gave him a new contract.

2-pointers this season

55%20,0Points made:20,0Accuracy:54,9%Place in standings:10Record max:26Record min:15Most made 2FGs:Luka MitrovicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Larkin signed a new four-year deal with Efes, keeping the player in Istanbul until the end of the 2027-28 season.

"Shane is what we like to call a franchise player. That's the reality. When we started this phase, where we started to go for the EuroLeague Final Four and the title, Shane came in and became a player who you associate with the term 'franchise player.' From the very beginning, his desire and his interests were to stay in Anadolu Efes and to continue here because it's also his home where he feels very good," Mijatovic said about Larkin.

"Our president didn't want to leave these things to chance for a single moment," the coach said about the contract extension. "It's simply the kind of player profile that every big club must have. He has shown that he deserves it in all aspects. Especially with Vasilije Micic's departure to the NBA and the transfers of Bryant Dunston and Krunoslav Simon."

Efes were previously coached by Ergin Ataman, who overtook Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens this season. The Turkish coach led the Greek team to a second-place finish in the EuroLeague regular season. However, PAO are facing tremendous difficulties in the playoffs against 7th-seeded Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, who are playing the vast majority of the playoff series without Wade Baldwin IV.

"It's the EuroLeague, it's the playoffs. Every game is new, you don't have the luxury of relying on what you did in the last game, every game is a new opportunity to prove yourself," Mijatovic said about the matchup. "Ataman did something extraordinary. First of all, he absolutely recreated the team."

"He's a top coach who can reshape the team at any moment and bring it to a high level in a very short period of time. I'm very happy to be his close associate and friend, we always support him in the club when we are not playing against him," Mijatovic said. "We hope he will continue to be extremely successful with Panathinaikos as he's been so far."

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