Efe Aydan

Ahmet Efe Aydan (born May 4, 1955 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish former professional basketball player. He is widely regarded as the best Turkish basketball player ever, with 224 caps for the senior Turkish national team. He was Turkey's captain in 89 games, and he scored 2,195 points with the senior Turkish national team.

Efe Aydan
Personal information
Born (1955-05-04) May 4, 1955
Ankara, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
Playing career1971–1992
PositionCenter
Number13
Career history
1971–1973Galatasaray
1973–1975Karşıyaka
1975–1982Eczacıbaşı
1982–1986Fenerbahçe
1986–1987Beşiktaş
1987–1988Paşabahçe
1988–1992Tofaş
Career highlights and awards
  • FIBA European Selection (1981)
  • 6× Turkish League champion (1976–1978, 1980–1982)

With Turkey's national team, he won the gold medal at the 1981 Balkan Games, and the gold medal at the 1987 Mediterranean Games. On the club level, he won the Turkish League championship 6 times. Aydan was also the first Turkish basketball player to play in the FIBA European Selection (the All-European Team), in 1981, where he displayed a memorable performance in the game against Joventut Badalona.[1][2]

Professional career

The ambitious Aydan started playing basketball in the youth ranks of Galatasaray, when he was 16 years old. Because of his talent, he was discovered by Eczacıbaşı, and he played there for a couple of years. He earned him a place in the FIBA European Selection (All-European Team), in 1981. He retired from playing basketball in 1992, while a member of the Turkish club Tofaş.

Domestic fame

Aydan is often cited as being the pioneer of Turkish basketball. He has a legendary status for Turkish basketball fans, and he is generally considered to be the top Turkish basketball hero of all time. Many believe that Aydan was a very underrated player, and that he could have been among the best players in the EuroLeague in his day. During his playing career, Turkish club basketball lacked in quality, which caused Aydan to be relatively unknown outside of Turkey, at the time.

Turkish national team

Aydan became a regular player for the senior Turkish national team, as he played at the EuroBasket 1975 and EuroBasket 1981. In both tournaments, Aydan was declared the most valuable player of the national team. He also led Turkey to their first ever international title, as they defeated Greece, in the final of the Balkan Games, in 1981, with Aydan again being the Turkish team's most valuable player.

Honours and awards

Club
  • 6× Turkish League Champion: (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982)
  • FIBA European Selection: (1981)

Turkish senior national team

Personal

He is the son of Turkish opera singer Sevda Aydan, and the older brother of Turkish actor Ege Aydan.

References
  1. "Efe Aydan kimdir". Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  2. "Turkey Legend". Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
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