Previous bench boss Tomislav Mijatovic will remain with the club as part of Banchi's staff
Efes appoints Luca Banchi as head coach
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul has appointed Luca Banchi as its new head coach. The sides agreed to a contract for the remainder of this season with an option for 2025-26. Previous head coach Tomislav Mijatovic will remain with the club as part of Banchi's coaching staff. Banchi, 59, started the season with Virtus Segafredo Bologna, but resigned his position after a 2-10 start.
Efes will be Banchi's fifth club in the EuroLeague. He debuted with Montepaschi Siena of his native Italy in 2012 and has since spent time with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Brose Bamberg and Virtus, which he joined just before the start of the 2023-24 season. Banchi guided Virtus to the Play-In Showdown in his lone complete season with the club.
Banchi had started his EuroLeague career as an assistant coach with Montepaschi Siena between 2006 and 2012. He helped it reach the Final Four in both 2008 in Madrid and 2011 in Barcelona. He later led Milan to the club's first EuroLeague Playoff appearance this century in 2014. Banchi also coached two seasons in the EuroCup, first with Turin of Italy in 2017-18 and then with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar of Russia in 2019-20, with an 8-11 overall record between those two seasons.
His trophy case includes winning the FIBA Intercontinental Cup with Lokomotiv in 2019, Italian League championships with Milan in 2013 and 2014 as well as the Italian Cup in the first of those seasons. Banchi, who has also coached clubs in Greece and France and spent a seasons as an assistant coach in the G League, is the head coach of the Latvian national team. He was named the Best Coach of the 2023 Basketball World Cup after leading Latvia to an unexpected fifth-place finish.