By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Imagine an island between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, full of greenery and above all full of hospitable and hardworking residents. Imagine a family whose father has played as a goalkeeper and whose carefree children kick around a soccer ball on the field.
Now imagine one of those kids years later, on another continent, in another sport, with a little more height and plenty of stature, and imagine him as one of the top centers in Europe’s top basketball competition.
No need to imagine anymore. He is Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos, a member of the First All-EuroLeague Team in 2023 and probably also in 2024.
In Martinique with a ball in his hands and feet
Mathias Lessort was born on September 29, 1995, in Fort-de-France, Martinique, the capital of an island with an area of 1,128 square kilometers. With a father who played soccer as a goalkeeper and two older brothers, Gregory and Mikael, also playing football, the love for sports was more than a given in the family.
The foot game, however, was not his only option. Basketball was also in his life, thanks to his height. Sharing a room with his brothers, posters of basketball players also lined the walls.
When he was 15, he boarded the plane bound for France and the first stop was Chalon-sur-Saône, where he joined the basketball program. This was also the first professional team in his career. The progression came by leaps and bounds, including the French League’s award for the best sixth man in 2016. He continued to Nanterre and from there to Crvena Zvezda for his first experience in the Euroleague.
- 2014-16 Elan Chalon
- 2016-17 Nanterre
- 2017-18 Crvena Zvezda
- 2018-19 Unicaja Malaga
- 2019-20 Bayern Munich
- 2020-21 AS Monaco
- 2021 Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 2021-23 Partizan Belgrade
- 2023-24 Panathinaikos Athens
First time in the Euroleague
He made his EuroLeague debut on October 13, 2017, in a loss to Zalgiris Kaunas (78-76) at Zalgirio Arena, being in the starting-lineup of Crvena Zvezda under coach Dusan Alimpijevic and scoring 6 points and pulling 5 rebounds in 19:34 minutes. It’s normal for a player to remember almost everything from his first game, but few if any opponents to remember him. Seven and a half years and 122 games later, Lessort’s Euroleague opponents don’t just remember him, they also try to forget that they were in his path.
First of the first
His explosion came as a Partizan player, with head coach Zeljko Obradovic giving him the opportunity and taking from him things to make the Serbian team great again. His emergence as a member of the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2023, when Partizan made it all the way to the playoffs – losing 3-2 to eventual champions Real Madrid – is an unshakable argument.
And while few believed that he would leave Partizan, especially having developed a strong bond with the fans of the team, the proposal of Panathinaikos came to convince him otherwise. After changing teams, there also came doubts about his chances of repeating similar performances, but at this point he has convinced even the most skeptical crowd.
PARTIZAN 2022-23 vs. PANATHINAIKOS 2023-24
12 POINTS 13.8
67.6% TWO-POINTERS 63.2%
73.4% FREE THROWS 66.7%
7.1 REBOUNDS 6.1
1.4 ASSIST 1.1
0.9 STEALS 1
0.8 BLOCKS 0.7
1.4 TURNOVERS 2
30:10 MINUTES 28:10
19.1 PIR 19.1
A personal show on a declaration win
Lessort has already been named weekly MVP three times as a Panathinaikos player: vs. Baskonia 95-81 in Round 5, vs. Monaco 88-63 in Round 21, and on the road vs. Real Madrid 86-97 in Round 7. An important detail: He never won the award until suiting up for Panathinaikos.
His last performance was the most indicative of his talent and abilities. With a career-high 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals against the top front-line of league leaders Real Madrid, the 28-year-old big man helped Panathinaikos celebrate its first win in the Spanish capital after 12 straight defeats. It was also Real Madrid’s first defeat at the WiZink Center (13-1) this season.
26 points | 12/18 2PT | 2/2 FT | 7 reb | 4 ast | 2 stl | 1 bl | 2 tr | 33 PIR
And this may be just a sign for things to come. At this point his routine is obvious: First a pick-and-roll with Kostas Sloukas, or a back-down to the basket, then a dunk and a smile while he returns to defend.
The question is if this can happen in the EuroLeague Final Four, too.