Anadolu Efes part ways with coach Erdem Can after EuroLeague loss

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish basketball club Anadolu Efes on Thursday parted ways with head coach Erdem Can after Wednesday's EuroLeague defeat against Zalgiris Kaunas.

"As Anadolu Efes Sports Club, we have parted ways with Mr. Erdem Can. We thank him for his efforts for our club and wish him success in his future career," Anadolu Efes said on X.

Can, 43, spent a decade as an assistant at Türkiye's Fenerbahce Beko and with the Utah Jazz in the NBA before becoming the head coach at Turk Telekom last season.

Alongside Serbian manager Zeljko Obradovic at Fenerbahce Beko, he won the 2017 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title.

The Turkish tactician then became an assistant for Quin Snyder at Utah Jazz (2021-2022).

During his spell with Turk Telekom, the 7Days EuroCup named Can as Coach of the Year for the 2022-23 season.

Anadolu Efes, who have 15 defeats in 24 rounds, lost to Zalgiris Kaunas 96-70 at the Zalgirio Arena on Wednesday.

Can replaced Ergin Ataman, who parted ways with the club after six years in charge last year.

Ataman guided Anadolu Efes to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022.