By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
On the way to his seventh EuroLeague season, Jordan Loyd talked to Eurohoops about joining Anadolu Efes and reuniting with several opponents from EuroBasket 2025.
“It was something, I guess I didn’t foresee. Obviously, it was a lot of works in progress and stuff, but it means a lot for me,” he discussed the recent move to the Istanbul outfit, “I feel refreshed. I feel excited, I feel looking forward to the opportunity to play for such a prestigious and amazing club like Efes.”
Before looking into the next challenge, he reflected on opting out of a two-year deal with Darussafaka in 2018, delaying his introduction to Europe’s premier club continental competition to instead sign with the Toronto Raptors and participate in an NBA championship season.
“My agent at the time told me that if I got an NBA contract, I would be able to get out. Because, of course, I was playing in Summer League, which I didn’t feel like I did that great, but I got the call for a two-way and I’m like super excited, ‘Toronto, this is gonna be awesome’. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m already signed in a EuroLeague team’,” he recalled.
“I wanted to play Euroleague, but at the same time… long story short, I couldn’t get out of the contract,” he explained, “It was very difficult and, me and my family had to pay money out of our own pocket, basically, to Darussafaka. I don’t feel like they handled the situation that great, but I take the fall first. I signed the contract. So, either way, I was able to go on and have like one of the best years of my life and win the NBA championship, despite all that.”
Teaming up with recent opponents
Playing for Poland in this summer’s EuroBasket, Loyd tallied 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per contest until the Quarterfinals and a losing effort against Turkiye in Riga. His side ranked sixth on the final standings, and he earned a spot on the All-Star Second Team.
“I’m sure it was shocking to a lot of people. For me, it wasn’t anything new,” he talked to Eurohoops about his impressive outings, “I feel like I’ve always been that type of player and person, but I had the opportunity to show it. So, obviously, you don’t get an opportunity like that every once in a while, but it was a great performance. I was happy. My teammates and coaches get a lot of credit for putting me in positions and believing in me, and giving me a chance to lead a team. So, all those guys over there are amazing, and they made me feel really comfortable, and I think it showed on the court.”
In the tournament-ending loss, the assignment to guard him was on Sehmus Hazer, who is among his new Efes teammates.
“I haven’t told him yet, but he did a great job,” mentioned the 32-year-old combo guard, “They had a great game plan. Every time I had the ball, there were two or three guys. My man, Hazer, did a great job of trying to just make things difficult. So, I’m happy he’s on my team now, and we can do that to other people.”
On the same path from opponent to teammate, Shane Larkin was also on the court on September 9.
“I’ve known Shane for several years now,” he said, “He is a top-class player. He’s amazing, and he’s an amazing person, so I just look forward to learning anything I can from him. He’s been here a long time. This is his team, his show, and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
“I look forward to playing with them,” Loyd opened up on his new teammates, “I think it’s going to be no problem with all the guys. I look forward to meshing with everyone. For sure, we can make a lot of noise if we’re locked in.”
Projected as a second option in the offense of the team coached by Igor Kokoskov, Loyd is rather uninterested in such labels.
“To me, it doesn’t matter. I don’t look at it as if I need to be a primary scorer; there’re gonna be games where they’re gonna need you to score more than others. There’s gonna be times when other people are feeling it. It’s a night-by-night thing,” he told Eurohoops, “I’m just looking at it as I’m gonna get a chance to play basketball and be excited about the way I’m playing and be in a role that I think that’ll be great for me and my team.”
“I don’t know about primary, secondary, all that. I really don’t care,” he continued, “It’s just more about getting wins, because we’re gonna have so many guys. Each top team is gonna have a lot of guys, and it’s gonna be all about how you complement one another, and every night it’s gonna be different.”
“Never too high, never too low”
A veteran of two Final Four campaigns with AS Monaco, Loyd also talked about the goals for the next season.
“I think the expectation of the club should be Final Four, winning championships. That’s it,” he said, “They’ve done that here in the past, and we want to get back to that. I think that’s the only way to look at it. If you’re not thinking about that when you go out to play, I’m not sure what else is on your mind.”
“Winning is everything, and my part in that is gonna be whatever he asks of me, whatever that looks like,” he referred to his role under head coach Kokoskov, “It’s gonna be a long season. It’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs. So, just battling through that inconsistency and stuff like that is gonna be the key.”
“You’ve got to be healthy, you got to be hitting your stride at the right time of the season, you got to be a bit lucky, and you got to have great staff and teammates like we have here,” he replied to a question about ending the Final Four drought of his new team, “There’s no secret recipe.”
“It’s just never too high, never too low,” he added, “Throughout the season there’s going to be things and you’re gonna feel like it’s the end of the world or on top of the world, and you just got to maintain and stay in the middle and good things usually happen when teams do that.”
Photo Credit: FIBA