Dario Šarić returns to Anadolu Efes after ten years: Istanbul club confirms major transfer for the new season
Dario Šarić will once again wear the jersey of Anadolu Efes, the club from which he moved to the NBA in 2016 and opened the longest American chapter of his career. According to the Istanbul club’s announcement of June 16, 2026, the 32-year-old Croatian basketball player signed a two-season contract, with a club option to extend the cooperation for one more year. Šarić is thus returning to the EuroLeague after ten years spent in the United States, where he played for several NBA teams and established himself as a big man who can connect the inside and outside game. For Anadolu Efes, this move is important both sporting-wise and symbolically, because a player who was one of the most recognizable young European talents during his first spell is returning to Istanbul. The club presented his return as a continuation of the story that began in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, when Šarić was part of the team before leaving for Philadelphia.
Return to the place from which he set off toward the NBA
According to Anadolu Efes’ official confirmation, Šarić is returning to the club on a 2+1 contract format, which means that the cooperation is guaranteed for two seasons, while the additional third one depends on an option provided for in the contract. In the original statement, the club emphasized that this is a former player who had already worn the Efes jersey in two seasons before moving to the NBA, and that continuity gives the transfer additional weight compared with ordinary summer reinforcements. In his first Istanbul period, Šarić arrived as one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, after success with Cibona and winning the ABA League in 2014. At Efes, he then had the opportunity to play at the highest European level, in an environment in which a young player was expected to adapt to the physically demanding EuroLeague and the pressure of a major club. Ten years later, he is returning in a significantly different role: not as a project for the future, but as an experienced player who should immediately bring depth, composure and solutions in offense.
Šarić’s return comes at a moment when Anadolu Efes is seeking a more stable European step forward after a very demanding season. According to the official EuroLeague standings for the 2025/26 season, the Istanbul team finished the regular season in 19th place with a record of 12 wins and 26 losses. Such a result is not in line with the reputation of a club that, according to its own club history, is the only Turkish club with two EuroLeague championship titles. That is precisely why signing a player of Šarić’s profile has clear logic: Efes needs a combination of experience, basketball intelligence and the ability to provide a functional link across several positions. Šarić is not a player whose value is limited only to individual production, but to the ability to read the defense, create from the post, open space with his shooting and make offense easier for the guards and centers around him.
What Šarić brings to Efes
According to FIBA data, Šarić is 208 centimeters tall, and during his career he has most often been used as a power forward and center, with a pronounced passing ability for a player of his height. That combination is especially important in European basketball, where big men increasingly have to make decisions with the ball, play out of the short roll, punish switches and stretch the floor. In the NBA, Šarić often had the role of a secondary creator on offense, and that characteristic could prove even more valuable in the EuroLeague because of less space, tighter rotations and a different game rhythm. According to his profile on NBA.com and ESPN statistical reviews, in his NBA career he averaged a double-digit number of points per game, along with more than five rebounds and almost two assists on average. Such numbers do not fully describe his value, because he spent part of his career in roles that changed depending on the team, injuries and the depth of the rotation.
Efes is getting a player who can play alongside a traditional center, but also take on some minutes at the five when it is necessary to open the paint and speed up the flow of the ball. Particularly important in his game is his feel for space: Šarić is not the most explosive big man, but he compensates for that by reading the game, making timely passes and being able to position himself where the defense must choose between double-teaming and leaving a shot open. In the European context, where opposing defenses often prepare in more detail than in the NBA regular season, such players can have very high tactical value. According to EuroLeague Basketball’s report on the transfer, his arrival strengthens Efes’ frontcourt and brings the experience of a player returning to the competition after a long period in the NBA environment. That does not mean the adjustment will be automatic, but Šarić already knows the rhythm of European games, travel, officiating and the importance of every possession in closing minutes.
A decade in the NBA and a change in career direction
Šarić’s path toward the NBA began back at the 2014 draft, when the Orlando Magic selected him as the 12th pick of the first round, and the rights to him ended up in Philadelphia that same evening. According to Basketball-Reference and NBA profile data, he made his debut in the world’s strongest league in October 2016 for the Philadelphia 76ers, after completing the European part of his development. In his first seasons he was an important part of Philadelphia’s young team and in 2017 was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, confirming that his entrance into the league was noticed. After Philadelphia, he played for Minnesota, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Denver and Sacramento, while NBA transactions show that in February 2026 he ended up in Detroit and was then waived without appearing for the Pistons. That formally ended the phase in which he was waiting for a new NBA opportunity, and a return to Europe became the logical continuation of his career.
The American period of Šarić’s career had different phases. In Philadelphia he received the broadest offensive role, in Minnesota and Phoenix he worked more within a defined system, while later stints brought fluctuating minutes and less room for continuity. Especially remembered is his period with the Phoenix Suns, with whom in 2021 he was part of the team that reached the NBA Finals. A knee injury in that finals series affected the continuation of his career and the way teams later used him, so his return to Europe should not be viewed only as a transfer, but as an attempt to regain a stable and clearly defined role. In that sense, Efes can offer him exactly what was limited in the final NBA seasons: minutes, responsibility and a system in which his style of play can stand out more clearly.
A career built between Cibona, Efes and the national team
Before his first arrival in Istanbul, Šarić already had the status of one of the most important young players in European basketball. Cibona won the ABA League in 2014, and reports from that period state that Šarić was the most valuable player of the final tournament and one of the team’s key leaders. At the beginning of 2015, FIBA Europe announced that Šarić had been chosen as Europe’s best young player for the second year in a row, showing how great the expectations were for his development. When he signed for Anadolu Efes in 2014, it was not an ordinary departure from regional basketball, but a move to a club that already had a strong European identity and a clear ambition to compete against the best. In his first phase in Turkey, Šarić played against elite EuroLeague teams, and according to TBLStat.net data, in the Turkish championship he recorded 75 appearances, 832 points, 458 rebounds and 147 assists over two seasons.
An important part of his profile remains his national team career as well. According to his FIBA profile, Šarić played for Croatia in senior competitions from qualifiers and EuroBasket to the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games and more recent qualifying cycles. In Croatian media reports about this transfer, he was described as the captain of the Croatian basketball national team, further emphasizing his role outside the club environment. National team experience is also important for Efes because it speaks of a player accustomed to taking responsibility in short competitive cycles, where there is not much time for corrections. In the EuroLeague club calendar, that ability is also important, especially in double-round weeks and periods when injuries or a team’s form quickly affect the standings.
Efes seeks a return toward the top
Anadolu Efes is a club with ambition that goes beyond mere participation in the EuroLeague. According to the club’s history, it has won the EuroLeague twice, and its European identity also includes the status of one of the symbols of Turkish basketball over the last three decades. In recent years, competition in the EuroLeague has become even tougher, and competition data for the 2025/26 season show how difficult it is to maintain stability in a format with 20 clubs and 38 regular-season games. After a poor finish, Efes had to react on the market, but the reputation of a reinforcement alone is not enough if it does not fit into the team structure. Šarić’s arrival will therefore be measured not only by his personal statistics, but by whether he can raise the functionality of lineups, connect the lines and bring a better balance between offensive risk and defensive solidity.
In that context, his return also carries broader symbolism. Efes is bringing back a player who knows the club, the city and the demands of the fans, but it is not bringing him back out of nostalgia, rather because of a concrete need for quality in the frontcourt. Šarić, for his part, is returning to an environment in which he should have greater responsibility than in the final seasons of his NBA episode. For a player of his age, this can be an important point in his career: he is experienced enough not to have to go through the process of proving himself as a young talent, and still good enough to influence results at the EuroLeague level. If Efes succeeds in building clear roles around him, the return could be one of the club’s more important moves in preparing for the new season.
A transfer that will attract EuroLeague attention
Šarić’s return to Anadolu Efes will be one of the stories that mark the transfer period in European basketball. According to Eurohoops’ report, the club finalized the agreement ahead of the 2026/27 season, and the return itself was described as a reunion between the player and the environment in which he completed preparations for his NBA career. In sporting terms, Efes is getting a player who can play multiple roles, while Šarić is getting a stage on which he can once again be important every week. Such a combination does not guarantee results, but it creates a clear story: one of the most recognizable Croatian basketball players is returning to the club that sent him off toward the NBA ten years ago. The new season will show whether that return will be only an emotional moment or the beginning of a concrete competitive recovery for the Istanbul giant.
Sources:
- Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü – official announcement on the signing of the contract with Dario Šarić (link)
- EuroLeague Basketball – news on Šarić’s return to Efes and the strengthening of the frontcourt (link)
- Eurohoops – report on the agreement between Anadolu Efes and Dario Šarić for the 2026/27 season (link)
- EuroLeague Basketball – official EuroLeague standings for the 2025/26 season (link)
- NBA.com – Dario Šarić profile and official transactions from February 2026 (link)
- NBA.com – overview of Detroit Pistons transactions with the recorded waiver of Dario Šarić (link)
- ESPN – statistical overview of Šarić’s NBA career (link)
- FIBA – Dario Šarić profile and overview of appearances for the Croatian national team (link)
- Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü – club history and trophies of Anadolu Efes (link)
- TBLStat.net – Dario Šarić’s statistics in the Turkish championship during his first spell at Efes (link)