By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BERLIN, Germany – Mathias Lessort was 15 when he left Le Morne-Vert, a small village in Martinique, 10.000 kilometers away from Berlin, to find his way as a professional basketball player in France.
Fourteen years later, he’s a EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos, having contributed to dethrone the defending champions of Real Madrid. “It’s crazy man, it’s an amazing feeling. I still don’t believe we really made it after one year together. And this makes no sense, to be honest with you”, he first said in the mixed zone.
After that, he came back remembering his journey and his people back in the Caribbeans. “This title is to show everybody from my island we really can make it, man. I’m a boy from a little village. I’m not even from the capital, I’m from a little village in Martinique: From Le Morne-Vert to the top of the EuroLeague is something I can not believe”, the dominant center emotionally shared.
Later on, celebrating inside Panathinaikos‘ locker room, he was blasting everybody who doubted him. “I’m a EuroCup center, I’m not good for a team that wants to win the EuroLeague”, he first sarcastically mimicked his doubters talking to Eurohoops’ Antonis Stroggylakis.
“I’ve seen all this sh-t, so now I bring the receipt”, he then added as a rap line. “So now I wanna know who the fu-k is a EuroCup center, who the fuck is not a center for a team that wants to win. Tell me now. Bring it up, the fu-k you’re talking about”, his free soul emerged.
Earlier in the mixed zone, he praised Kostas Sloukas, named Final Four MVP. “Kostas [Sloukas] carried us tonight, he stole the MVP from me, unfortunately. No, I’m joking, I’m joking”, he said smiling. “I’m really happy for him and he deserves this. He worked hard for that, he made a big decision that shook Europe last summer”, he reflected on his move from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos.
“A lot of people didn’t believe he could do what he was doing. A lot of people said he was too old, that he couldn’t carry the team. Tonight, he shut a lot of mouths, and he proved he’s Kostas Sloukas: one of the better point guards Europe has ever seen”, he said.
How will people remember this team?
The question now is: how will people remember this Panathinaikos team? “I don’t even know. This is crazy. We started the year and everybody was like “They’re not gonna make it, they don’t have the talent, they don’t have this or that”. We started the year badly, and nobody believed us”, he opened.
“We were the only ones who believed in ourselves, we were the only ones who said “No, we got this”, and just taking it one game at a time, getting better every day in practice, every game getting better. That’s what we did and we finished the season in the best shape we could have. We beat the European champions by a big margin tonight. It’s something crazy”, Mathias Lessort also added.
Most importantly, the French center reflected at worse times. For example in the 2017-18 season, playing his first EuroLeague season with Crvena Zvezda. “I always believed in myself, I always believed I could achieve good things. My first EuroLeague campaign I was 21 years old. I was in a very tough environment”, he first said about that time.
“I feel like until halfway through the season I was playing really well for a 21-year-old guy, for my first time in the EuroLeague. But I don’t know. There was some stuff that happened behind the scenes not related to basketball, which made me not play the way I was supposed to play. They signed a new big in the team, I don’t know why they signed him. My minutes went down and people stopped believing in me”, he added.
“This is revenge for myself, to show all the people who said even at the beginning of the year. Some guy was saying I was not a big man for a contending team. Some guy was saying I was a EuroCup big. Even though last year I was First-Team All-EuroLeague. People were still doubting me. Now I’m not a EuroCup champion, I’m a EuroLeague champion. Thank you to those people”, he dropped the mic.
Enjoy Panathinaikos’ celebrations in the locker room:
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague