By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Shortly following granting permission to return to the United States for family reasons, Anadolu Efes confirmed the departure of Stanley Johnson.
Upon a mutual agreement to terminate their contract, the team based in Istanbul officially parted ways with the 28-year-old winger on Tuesday. Returning to the G League and reuniting with the South Bay Lakers is his next stop, as announced earlier Tuesday.
Making his way to the 2024-25 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, debuting in Europe’s premier club continental competition translated into 1.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.3 assists per contest over 17 appearances, including five starts. In addition, he averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest over six games in the Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi.
Coming out of Arizona in 2015, Johnson was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the eighth pick of the NBA draft. He went on to record 456 appearances in the league based in North America, before moving his talents overseas and a brief stint with Efes. Besides the Pistons, he played for the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA.
Moving forward, the team coached by Luca Banchi will be aiming to enter the 2025 Playoffs of the EuroLeague at the bottom end of the continental campaign. After 26 out of the 34 showings in the Regular Season, a 12-14 W-L tally is two games outside the Play-In Showdown zone.
At the domestic level, the current focus is on the 2025 ING Turkish Cup, but a 14-4 record is three games behind BSL leader Fenerbahce Beko.