Throughout the history of the modern EuroLeague, defending champions have only failed to make the playoffs on three occasions.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul's early elimination from the 2022-23 EuroLeague season wasn't just shocking, it was historic.
They became the first team in the new regular season format era to fail to reach the Final Four as defending champions.
On top of that, they're the first EuroLeague champion since the 2009-10 season to miss the playoffs the following year.
In fact, since the start of the modern EuroLeague era in the 2000-01 season, there have only been three occasions when title defenders missed the playoffs.
Efes had a disappointing campaign this year, especially considering their back-to-back titles and the talk of a potential best EuroLeague dynasty in the making.
They went all-in on a three-peat quest, adding Will Clyburn to a lineup that already boasted two potential All-EuroLeague players.
Despite having one of the biggest budgets in the EuroLeague, they fell short of expectations. It's definitely one of the biggest upsets that EuroLeague champions have ever faced in 23 years.
But Efes isn't the only team to have suffered such a fate.
BasketNews reminds you of the two other seasons when the title defenders failed badly.
Panathinaikos Athens, 2009-10
Panathinaikos, for example, experienced a similar downfall in the 2009-10 season.
The title defenders had a solid regular season, losing only two games against Real Madrid.
However, things didn't go as planned in the Top 16 stage.
Despite having a comfortable 9-point lead in the third quarter of a low-scoring Top 16 opener against Partizan Belgrade, Panathinaikos ended up losing the battle 59-64 after a 2-13 run in the closing minutes of the game. Jan Vesely had his early career-high 13 points that night.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul / Schedule
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
AS MonacoIn the following round, Nikola Pekovic led Panathinaikos with 19 first-half points vs. Maroussi Athens. However, they blew their double-digit lead, as Nick Calathes' brother Pat and Billy Keys combined for 17 fourth-quarter points to secure the win for Maroussi 80-78.
Things didn't get any easier for Panathinaikos, as they lost two games in a row to the future EuroLeague champions FC Barcelona and dropped to 0-4. Defending champions managed to win their last two games, but it wasn't enough to reach the quarterfinals. Instead, Barcelona and Partizan advanced to the playoffs.
| GM | MIN | 2P M/A | 3P M/A | REB | AS | PTS | EFF | |
| Jurica Golemac | 5 | 6:48 | 2/2 (100%) | 1/3 (33.3%) | 0.6 0.4/0.2 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
| Milenko Tepic | 15 | 15:52 | 15/32 (46.9%) | 5/23 (21.7%) | 2.1 1.8/0.3 | 1 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| Vassilis Spanoulis | 14 | 25:21 | 28/56 (50%) | 13/47 (27.7%) | 1.5 1.3/0.2 | 3.6 | 10.3 | 10.4 |
| Stratos Perperoglou | 15 | 20:36 | 18/34 (52.9%) | 15/30 (50%) | 1.9 1.7/0.2 | 1.2 | 6.1 | 7.2 |
| Mike Batiste | 11 | 23:16 | 66/103 (64.1%) | 1/6 (16.7%) | 5.7 4.3/1.5 | 0.8 | 15.5 | 18 |
| Antonios Fotsis | 16 | 23:18 | 25/37 (67.6%) | 10/32 (31.3%) | 5.5 3.8/1.7 | 0.6 | 6.2 | 10.7 |
| Marcus Haislip | 6 | 17:40 | 11/22 (50%) | 1/8 (12.5%) | 3.3 1.8/1.5 | 0 | 5.7 | 4.3 |
| Drew Nicholas | 16 | 27:37 | 29/63 (46%) | 32/78 (41%) | 1.8 1.6/0.1 | 2.2 | 10.5 | 8 |
| Kostas Tsartsaris | 6 | 13:10 | 4/11 (36.4%) | 1/3 (33.3%) | 2.7 2.2/0.5 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
| Dimitrios Diamantidis | 12 | 26:35 | 17/28 (60.7%) | 16/31 (51.6%) | 2.9 2.4/0.5 | 3.3 | 9.4 | 13.8 |
| Nikola Pekovic | 13 | 21:50 | 68/112 (60.7%) | 0/0 | 3.5 1.9/1.6 | 0.5 | 14.8 | 16 |
| Nick Calathes | 14 | 13:47 | 12/22 (54.5%) | 5/22 (22.7%) | 1.9 1.4/0.5 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
| Giorgio Shermadini | 12 | 9:10 | 18/26 (69.2%) | 0/1 (0%) | 2.2 0.8/1.3 | 0 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
| Dimitrios Verginis | 2 | 4:30 | 0/0 | 1/2 (50%) | 0.5 0.5/0 | 0 | 1.5 | 1 |
| Giorgos Bogris | 1 | 3:00 | 1/1 (100%) | 0/0 | 1 1/0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Šarūnas Jasikevičius | 7 | 15:51 | 12/22 (54.5%) | 0/8 (0%) | 1.1 1/0.1 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 3 |
Panathinaikos Athens, 2007-08
The 2007-08 season was running smoothly for Panathinaikos, with the Green clinching the first seed in the regular season group with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and five other teams. However, the direction of the season unexpectedly changed in the Top 16 stage.
Drew Nicholas scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half, tying his career best, as Efes upset Panathinaikos in the Top 16 stage opener.
As it turned out later, it was the only Efes win in the Top 16. Panathinaikos dropped another game in Siena and was pushed to the ropes with a do-or-die game in Belgrade for the playoff qualification.
Panathinaikos contained Partizan's star Nikola Pekovic to 9 points, but veterans boosted the home team. Milt Palacio scored 24, including a clutch shot in the final minute, Dusan Kecman added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Partizan upset Panathinaikos.
The morning after their devastating loss, Zeljko Obradovic wasted no time and called up his star players - Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Mike Batiste, and Sarunas Jasikevicius - to review the game footage and address their mistakes in the crucial fourth quarter.
"You impact the outcome of Panathinaikos games. You must be ready every time," Zeljko challenged his leaders.
| GM | MIN | 2P M/A | 3P M/A | REB | AS | PTS | EFF | |
| Nikola Prkacin | 4 | 4:30 | 3/7 (42.9%) | 0/0 | 0.8 0/0.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Fragiskos Alvertis | 12 | 8:10 | 3/8 (37.5%) | 7/27 (25.9%) | 0.8 0.6/0.2 | 0.3 | 3 | 1.6 |
| Stratos Perperoglou | 9 | 9:53 | 14/25 (56%) | 2/8 (25%) | 1.4 1/0.4 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
| Vassilis Spanoulis | 20 | 27:45 | 54/109 (49.5%) | 22/62 (35.5%) | 2.7 2.5/0.2 | 2.7 | 11.3 | 11.8 |
| Sani Becirovic | 18 | 17:16 | 22/48 (45.8%) | 13/36 (36.1%) | 1.7 1.4/0.3 | 1.3 | 6.8 | 7.1 |
| Mike Batiste | 19 | 24:28 | 91/139 (65.5%) | 0/7 (0%) | 5.3 4.1/1.3 | 0.7 | 11.9 | 14.1 |
| Andrija Zizic | 18 | 14:00 | 36/62 (58.1%) | 0/1 (0%) | 1.7 0.9/0.8 | 0.4 | 5.2 | 2.4 |
| Nikolaos Hatzivrettas | 19 | 15:22 | 16/24 (66.7%) | 14/27 (51.9%) | 1.2 1/0.2 | 0.6 | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| Dimos Dikoudis | 20 | 14:36 | 41/65 (63.1%) | 7/17 (41.2%) | 2.5 1.6/0.9 | 0.2 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Kostas Tsartsaris | 12 | 16:20 | 19/29 (65.5%) | 12/27 (44.4%) | 3.4 2.4/1 | 0.9 | 8 | 10 |
| Dimitrios Diamantidis | 19 | 31:03 | 20/35 (57.1%) | 27/62 (43.5%) | 5.3 4.8/0.4 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 15.1 |
| Kennedy Winston | 19 | 18:06 | 31/61 (50.8%) | 6/22 (27.3%) | 2.3 1.9/0.4 | 0.6 | 5 | 5.3 |
| Dejan Tomasevic | 4 | 9:00 | 3/5 (60%) | 0/0 | 1.5 1/0.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Aris Tatarounis | 1 | 4:00 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 0/0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| Milos Vujanic | 2 | 7:00 | 1/2 (50%) | 1/1 (100%) | 0 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Šarūnas Jasikevičius | 20 | 23:36 | 50/92 (54.3%) | 29/71 (40.8%) | 1.7 1.4/0.3 | 2.9 | 13.2 | 13.1 |
However, he admitted it was not the end of the world and asked them to focus on goals in the domestic league.
Panathinaikos went on to win the Greek Cup and the Greek championship and even regained the EuroLeague title the following season.
During their rollercoaster ride from 2007 to 2011, Panathinaikos won three EuroLeague titles but missed the playoffs in the other two seasons.
On both occasions, Panathinaikos continued under the guidance of Zeljko Obradovic and only made minor tweaks to their roster.
Now, the question remains: can Efes follow in Panathinaikos' footsteps and overcome this setback?
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