2023-08-07 14:38:00
World Cup – Still in care to heal a big sprained ankle, Mathias Lessort returns for Basket USA on his departure from Partizan Belgrade to Panathinaikos. Clearly, the NBA is way out of its mind.
We forget it a little but Mathias Lessort was drafted. It was in 2017, in 50th position by the Sixers, just between Vlatko Cancar and Monte Morris. Unlike them, he never set foot in the NBA, and the French interior preferred to establish himself as one of the very best young people in his position in Europe, whether with the Red Star of Belgrade, Monaco, Bayern Munich or Unicaja and even Maccabi Tel Aviv. A driving force behind a Partizan team that has made noise this season in the Euroleague, notably with 9 points and 5 rebounds on average, Lessort would like to transform the trial with the Blues, by bringing his energy and his engine, his marks of manufactures on the boards.
“I have gained a lot of maturity and experience [ces dernières années]. I had the chance to rub shoulders with good players and good coaches who helped me in my game. My club status has also changed. I just progressed in my patience, my game reading, everything that encompasses the experience in fact. I’m less crazy, I’m calmer, more serene. I make better decisions, I read the game more easily.”
From the Belgrade Cauldron to the Athens Cauldron
While others are focusing on the NBA, Lessort prefers to continue his progression on the Old Continent, moving from Partizan to Panathinaikos at the start of the next school year.
“I didn’t really want to leave Partizan but Pana offered me a project which was very similar to that of Partizan, namely to bring the club back to the top by bringing in a great coach and great players. We know that it can become a crazy project in the long term. I can’t wait to see what it can do, with this room at OAKA which is often on fire. I’m going to get there wanting to be the best I can be, not thinking it’s going to be a springboard for the NBA. [ou quoi que ce soit d’autre]. I don’t even know who has my rights anymore, so I think that answers your question…”
For his information, his rights belong to the Knicks for two years, and they have traveled quite a bit. In July 2019, the Sixers traded them to the Clippers in a four-team trade. A year later, in November 2020, his rights were transferred to the Knicks, after a one-day hook by Wolves.
Interview in Orléans
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