Spanish coach Pablo Laso, aged 58, has been hired by Anadolu Efes to rescue the Turkish team amid its EuroLeague crisis. After leaving Real Madrid in 2022 and stints at Bayern and Baskonia without major European successes, Laso will debut this Thursday against Valencia Basket. The Istanbul club sits 17th with just five wins.
Pablo Laso left Real Madrid abruptly and controversially in the summer of 2022, following heart problems, after 11 years in which he won 22 titles, including two EuroLeagues. Since then, his career has included a sabbatical season, followed by a stint at Bayern Munich in 2023-2024, where he failed to reach the EuroLeague playoffs with a 13-21 record, though he did secure the Bundesliga and German Cup. Last season, he returned to Baskonia but missed the Copa del Rey and EuroLeague playoffs, falling in the ACB quarterfinals to Madrid.
Now, Laso takes on his eighth professional club as a coach and second outside Spain. He joins Anadolu Efes, one of Europe's biggest-budget teams and EuroLeague champion in 2021 and 2022—beating Madrid in the Belgrade final the second time—but mired in a deep crisis. The team sacked coach Igor Kokoskov on November 27, after his summer arrival replacing Luca Banchi; Rado Trifunovic has been interim since.
The Turks lost to Madrid last Thursday in Istanbul and hold 17th in the EuroLeague with five wins. In the Turkish league, they are fourth after four straight losses, trailing unbeaten leader Besiktas, Fenerbahce—whom they face Sunday—and Bahcesehir. They have welcomed back Rodrigue Beaubois, but key players like Vincent Poirier, Shane Larkin, PJ Dozier, and Georgios Papagiannis remain sidelined. Laso, who was linked to replacing Sergio Scariolo on the Spanish national team, has been commentating Liga Endesa games for DAZN. His debut comes this Thursday at Roig Arena against Pedro Martínez's Valencia Basket.