By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Anadolu Efes team that won the back-to-back EuroLeague championships of 2021 and 2022 is widely considered as one of the best and most quality teams this century in the competition.
Shane Larkin, a superstar of both that team and the current squad, argued that this season’s Efes is packed with more talent than the one that won the EuroLeague titles for two straight seasons.
“The team that went back-to-back was a very special team because we were together for so long. I think we were a genuine family. We knew the ins and outs of each other. That was what made this team so special. But I personally think that this team is more talented,” Larkin said after the win of Efes at Panathinaikos Athens in Game 2 of the EuroLeague playoffs.
“I think we have more individual talent on this team that we maybe did on that championship team,” Larkin added. “Especially inside with Vinnie [Poirier] and Dan [Oturu]. They give us different elements that maybe we didn’t necessarily have at that time. And that’s no disrespect for the guys that were on that team.”
Larkin, who had just poured 20 points and drained the go-ahead triple in the Game 2 victory, then gave credit to coach Luca Banchi for changing the trajectory of this season’s Efes. At the Italian coach’s arrival in January, the team that was struggling to make the Play-In spots but eventually climbed up in the rankings and booked a Playoff ticket thanks to an outstanding 8-0 finish in the regular season.
“The thing that changed for us this year is was when coach Banchi came in,” Larkin said. “He kind of put in a system, a structure and a rotation that we all had to believe and buy into. Once we did that, you saw all these pieces to come together. You saw what our potential was. It took us some time. It’s difficult any time when you change a coach in the mid of the season. He did a very good job in being very stern and strict in what he wants to do. Now we are reaping the benefits of it.”