Date Of Birth: 1955
Place Of Birth: Ankara (Turkey)
Height: 202cm
Position: Center

As the first ever Turkish basketball player to appear in more than 200 for the national team and the first from his country to be selected for the All European Team, Efe Aydan was a role model with the exemplary personality and sportsmanship he displayed throughout his career. Not to mention the outstanding talent with which he graced the courts.

He shone for both national team and club teams reaching milestones and accomplishments most can only dream of.

As a youngster Efe Aydan was first and foremost into football. He was a goalkeeper until the age of 16. But unsuccessful in his quest for elite competition and still growing steadily he eventually he found himself knocking on Galatasaray’s basketball team’s door in 1971; a moved that launched his legendary basketball career.

He played for Galatasaray for one year at the end of which he signed a contract with second division team Karsiyaka. He led them to promotion in his first year there. As newcomers to the top division, Karsiyaka finished the league in 3rd place. The young Aydan was already playing a the leading role in his team.

He then moved to Eczacibasi, which began the most successful era of his career. During that time only a small number of teams were able to beat Eczacibasi and even those would achieve it very rarely, as the club secured six titles in seven years.

During the same period he played for his country at two European Championships, in which Turkey finished 12th (1975) and 11th (1981) averaging 7.8 and 12.5 points per game respectively.

In 1981, Turkey was also invited to play in Balkan Championship. Considered by most as underdogs, Turkey – under Efe Aydan’s captaincy – surprisingly reached the final, where they overcame neighbours and rivals Greece. This was the first and only trophy for Turkey in the Balkan Championships.

Aydan left Eczacibasi to join Fenerbahce. In four years under his leadership, Fenerbahce became perennial finalists but never would lift the trophy.

Aydan’s next stop was at Besiktas. With Aydan, Besiktas were absolute favourites for the trophy and true to expectations they finished the season in first place. However, they were beaten by Galatasaray in the first round of playoffs.

Having to decrease the budget of the team, Besiktas released Aydan, who moved on to newly promoted Pasabahce for one season.

In 1988, Aydan moved to Tofas, a club he would come to form a special bond with; a bond that has lasted until the present day.

In a disappointing first year, Tofas was unexpectedly relegated. Everyone expected Aydan to leave the club for a top league title-contending team, but he surprised many when he decided to stay and fight for promotion. Outclassing opposing teams in a league Aydan clearly didn’t belong in, he ensured Tofas’ immediate return to the top division, during a season in which the team didn’t lose a single game.

The following year he led the newly promoted Tofas to the playoff finals – the greatest success in the club’s history up until that point. They lost the thrilling series to Fenerbahce, after which Aydan announced his decision to retire.

Persuaded to extend his career by one more year, Aydan – in an injury plagued season – led Tofas to the playoffs, loosing to Efes Pilsen in the final.

Almost twenty years have passed since last graced the courts, but with 224 appearances he is still the most capped basketball player of Turkey, scoring 2195 points in the process. Off the court, Efe Aydan has been continuing to serve Turkish basketball and Tofas, where he is currently the club’s president.