By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Mathias Lessort has inked a contract for the remainder of the 2021-22 season with Partizan NIS, the team announced Monday.
Lessort, 26, was rumored to be close to joining the Serbian team based in Belgrade. He last played for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv putting up 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, one steal, and 0.6 steals per contest over five appearances in the ongoing 2021-22 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
The French center will be back in the 7DAYS EuroCup after helping AS Monaco capture the 2020-21 championship with 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. Combined with his 2018-19 stint at Unicaja Malaga, he has made his way to 42 EuroCup games.
In addition, Lessort has logged 57 games played in the EuroLeague between Maccabi, FC Bayern Munich, and Crvena Zvezda mts. As a member of the arch-rival of his new team, he played in his first 29 ABA League games as Crvena Zvezda ended up second after being defeated in four games by Buducnost VOLI in the best-of-five Finals.
Partizan, guided by legendary head coach Zeljko Obradovic, is currently leading Group A of the EuroCup Regular Season thanks to a 6-1 record. The 10-2 W-L tally in the AdmiralBet ABA League is good enough for a tie with FMP in second place, one game behind Crvena Zvezda.
Back in 2017, heading to his first run in Belgrade, Lessort was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 50th overall pick of the NBA draft. His NBA rights have since been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and from there to the New York Knicks in November 2020.