Defeating the Yukatel Merkezefendi Belediye Basket team in the first match of ING Basketball Super League 2021-22 season with a score of 94-93 in the overtime, Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman stated his thoughts post-game:
"Congratulations to Yukatel Merkezefendi Belediye Basket. They’ve shown an amazing offensive performance. Especially Adam Smith. They’ve scored 14 three-pointers with a high percentage. We’ve struggled defense-wise. We’ve missed a lot on the offense. Micic struggles from time to time. Our defensive game was in a bad shape but we’ve won the first match of the league in the end. We didn’t seem ready but we are starting with a win.”