![]() Lessort with Unicaja | |
No. 26 – Panathinaikos | |
---|---|
Position | Center |
League | Greek Basket League EuroLeague |
Personal information | |
Born | Fort-de-France, Martinique | 29 September 1995
Nationality | French |
Listed height | 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) |
Listed weight | 116 kg (256 lb) |
Career information | |
NBA draft | 2017: 2nd round, 50th overall pick |
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | |
Playing career | 2014–present |
Career history | |
2014–2016 | Élan Chalon |
2016–2017 | Nanterre 92 |
2017–2018 | Crvena zvezda |
2018–2019 | Málaga |
2019–2020 | Bayern Munich |
2020–2021 | AS Monaco |
2021 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
2021–2023 | Partizan |
2023–present | Panathinaikos |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Mathias Michel Lessort (born 29 September 1995) is a French professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He stands 206 cm (6’9’’) tall and plays at the center position. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2023 and 2024, Lessort won the EuroLeague title in 2024 with Panathinaikos.
Early years
[edit]Born in the French overseas department of Martinique and raised in Le Morne-Vert until the age of 15,[1] Lessort joined the youth ranks of Élan Chalon in 2010 and won the French national championship with Chalon’s cadet team in 2012 and 2013 and with their development team ("Espoirs") in 2013. He also helped Chalon win the 2013 Trophée du Futur.[2]
Professional career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Lessort was handed his first professional contract by the club in June 2014[3] and made his debut in the French top-flight Pro A during the 2014-15 season. Before turning professional, he had considered enrolling at a university in the United States and had been in touch with Gonzaga and North Carolina State.[4]
He saw action in 23 games as a rookie, chipping in with 2.0 points a game, while pulling down 2.0 rebounds per contest.[5] In 2015-16, he logged his first minutes in a European club competition, the FIBA Europe Cup.[6]
In April 2016, he declared for the NBA draft,[7] but later withdrew.[8] On 1 June 2016 he joined JSF Nanterre of the French Pro A on a three-year deal.[9] In April 2017, Lessort won both the French Basketball Cup and the FIBA Europe Cup championships with Nanterre.[10]
On 11 August 2017 Lessort signed a three-year deal with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.[11][12] He played there only in the 2017–18 season, before signing with Spanish ACB side Unicaja in July 2018.[13]
Lessort spent the 2019-20 season in Germany with Bayern Munich.
AS Monaco (2020–2021)
[edit]On 18 September 2020, Lessort signed with AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A.[14]
Maccabi Tel Aviv (2021)
[edit]On 25 September 2021, Lessort signed a 2-month contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League in order to replace the injured Ante Žižić.[15] In five games, Lessort averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He parted ways with the team on 26 November.[16]
Partizan Belgrade (2021–2023)
[edit]On 20 December 2021, Lessort signed with KK Partizan of the Basketball League of Serbia, the ABA League and the EuroCup.[17]
On 18 July 2022, he signed a new contract with Partizan.[18] Under coach Željko Obradović. He was one of the most useful players in the Euroleague, he was in the first team of the Euroleague, and he was also one of the main candidates for the MVP title. During the 2022–23 season, Partizan was eliminated from the Real Madrid in tight playoffs series. Over the season, Lessort averaged 12 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after 3–2 score against Crvena zvezda in the Finals series.[19]
Panathinaikos (2023–present)
[edit]On 27 June 2023, Lessort signed a two-year contract with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. On February 29, 2024 in a 97-86 win against Real Madrid, Lessort set his EuroLeague career-high of 26 points, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists. On May 26, 2024, Lessort helped Panathinaikos win its seventh EuroLeague title by scoring 17 points and recording 6 rebounds in a 95-80 win over Real Madrid in the final.
NBA draft rights
[edit]Lessort was drafted in the second round as the 50th pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In July 2019, his draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team trade.[20] On 19 November 2020 his draft rights were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.[21] Lessort's draft rights were traded again, to the New York Knicks, on 20 November.[22]
National team career
[edit]Lessort played in the 2013 Nike Global Challenge, averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game,[23] while receiving International All-Tournament Team honors.[24]
He represented France at the 2014[25] and 2015 U20 European Championships. In 2015, he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds en route to a semifinal appearance.[26] As a member of the French men's national team, he captured a bronze medal at the 2019 World Cup[27] and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Career statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
[edit]† | Denotes season in which Lessort won the EuroLeague |
* | Led the league |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017–18 | Crvena zvezda | 30 | 29 | 21.1 | .549 | .000 | .632 | 5.7 | .8 | .8 | .7 | 8.5 | 10.7 |
2019–20 | Bayern Munich | 22 | 4 | 11.3 | .528 | — | .600 | 2.2 | .5 | .5 | .5 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
2021–22 | Maccabi | 5 | 3 | 11.7 | .737 | — | .562 | 3.4 | .6 | 1.0 | — | 7.4 | 9.2 |
2022–23 | Partizan | 38 | 23 | 30.2 | .674 | .000 | .734 | 7.1* | 1.4 | .9 | .8 | 12.0 | 19.1 |
2023–24† | Panathinaikos | 41* | 29 | 29.4 | .624 | .000 | .607 | 6.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .9 | 13.9 | 19.6 |
Career | 136 | 88 | 24.3 | .618 | .000 | .647 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .8 | .7 | 10.3 | 14.6 |
Personal life
[edit]His brother Grégory Lessort is also a professional basketball player.[28]
References
[edit]- ^ Milanti, Cesare (2024-05-27). "Mathias Lessort blasts critics: "I've seen this sh-t, I bring the receipt"". Eurohoops. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Premier contrat pro pour Mathias Lessort et Axel Bouteille". Élan Chalon. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Chalon : Premiers contrats pros pour Lessort et Bouteille". France info (in French). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort, basketteur du centre de formation de l'Élan Chalon : " Pour l'équipe de France U-20, ça commence à être d'un niveau au-dessus " - Toute l'actualité de la Martinique sur Internet - FranceAntilles.fr". France-Antilles Martinique. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort - Chalon/Saône – Joueurs - Pro A – LNB.fr". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort | FIBA Europe Cup". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort (Chalon) se présentera à la Draft NBA". L'Equipe.fr (in French). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ Release, Official. "Thirty-three international early-entry candidates withdraw from Draft". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
- ^ "JSF Nanterre - Mathias Lessort, nouvelle recrue de Nanterre 92 !". www.nanterre92.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ^ "Nanterre continue magical week; hold off Elan Chalon in title-decider". FIBA Europe Cup. 2017-04-25. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort is the new Crvena zvezda mts reinforcement". aba-liga.com. August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "Zvezda adds young rebounding ace Lessort". www.euroleague.net. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ VincentCouty. "Matthias Lessort arrive en Liga Endesa... Destination Unicaja Malaga !!". Inside Basket Europe (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (September 18, 2020). "Mathias Lessort officially joins AS Monaco". Sportando. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (September 27, 2021). "Maccabi Tel Aviv officially signs Mathias Lessort". Sportando. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort left Maccabi Tel Aviv". Eurobasket. November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ "KOŠARKAŠKA TRANSFER BOMBA! Matijas Lesor POTPISAO ZA PARTIZAN, crno-beli potvrdili veliko pojačanje!". kurir.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ Normasoft. Net, Normasoft. "Lesor ostaje crno-beli". Normacore.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ "PARTIZAN MOZZART BET ARE 2022/23 ADMIRALBET ABA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS". aba-liga.com. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "HEAT Acquire Butler And Leonard". NBA.com. July 6, 2019.
the Clippers received...the draft rights to Mathias Lessort from Philadelphia
- ^ "LA Clippers Acquire Draft Rights to Daniel Oturu". nba.com. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ "Knicks Acquire Draft Rights to Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley". NBA.com. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Tournament Individual Leaders" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Info | Nike Global Challenge". www.nikeglobalchallenge.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort | U20 European Championship Men (2014) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Mathias Lessort | U20 Europe Championship Men - Division A". u20men.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "Basket-ball. Mathias Lessort : « Je ne me projette jamais trop »". www.lejsl.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-27.
- ^ "Pas d'erreur, c'est Lessort !". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
External links
[edit]- Mathias Lessort at aba-liga.com
- Mathias Lessort at draftexpress.com
- Mathias Lessort at eurobasket.com
- Mathias Lessort at euroleaguebasketball.net
- Mathias Lessort at lequipe.fr