Ahmet Efe Aydan (born May 4, 1955 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Turkey) is a Turkish former professional

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player. He is regarded by many as the best Turkish basketball player ever, with a total of 224

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with the senior Turkish national team. He was Turkey's national team

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in 89 games, and he scored 2,195 points with the senior Turkish national team. With Turkey's national team, he won the gold medal at the 1981 Balkan Championship, and the gold medal at the 1987 Mediterranean Games. On the club level, he won the

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championship 6 times. Aydan was also the first Turkish basketball player to play on the

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(the All-European Team), in 1981, where he displayed a memorable performance in a game against the

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club

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Professional career

The ambitious Aydan started playing basketball in the youth ranks of Galatasaray Istanbul, when he was 16 years old. Because of his talent and ability, he was signed by Eczacibasi Istanbul, and he played with that club for several years. He earned himself a place on the

(All-European Team), in 1981. He retired from playing pro club basketball in 1992, while he was a member of the Turkish club Tofas Bursa.

Domestic fame

Aydan is often cited as being the pioneer of Turkish basketball. He has a legendary status with Turkish basketball fans, and he is generally considered to be the top Turkish basketball idol of all time. Many basketball historians believe that Aydan was a very underrated player, and that he could have been among the most well-remembered European players of his time, if he had played in a bigger

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

club than the ones he played in. During his playing career, Turkish club basketball lacked in quality, which caused Aydan to be relatively unknown outside of Turkey, at the time.

National team career

Aydan became a regular player of the senior Turkish national team, as he played at the

1975 EuroBasket The 1975 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1975, was the nineteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues First round Group A – Split Group B – Karlovac Group C � ...

and 1981 EuroBasket. In both tournaments, Aydan was declared the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the national team. He also led Turkey to their first ever international title, as they defeated

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, in the final of the Balkan Championship, in 1981, with Aydan again being the Turkish team's most valuable player.

Honours and awards

Club

*6×

Champion: (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982) *

: (1981)

Turkish senior national team

* 1981 Balkan Championship: * 1983 Mediterranean Games: * 1987 Mediterranean Games:

Personal life

Aydan is the son of Turkish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer Sevda Aydan, and the older brother of Turkish actor Ege Aydan.

References

External links

FIBA ProfileTBLStat.net Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aydan, Efe 1955 births Living people Beşiktaş men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Eczacıbaşı S.K. (men's basketball) players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Karşıyaka basketball players Paşabahçe S.K. players Basketball players from Ankara Tofaş S.K. players Turkish men's basketball players Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1987 Mediterranean Games 20th-century Turkish sportsmen