Mathias Lessort

Mathias Lessort (born September 29, 1995) is a French professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the LNB Pro A. He stands 206 cm (6’9’’) tall and plays at the center position.

Mathias Lessort
Lessort with Crvena zvezda in 2017
No. 26 – AS Monaco
PositionCenter
LeagueLNB Pro A
Personal information
Born (1995-09-29) September 29, 1995
Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
NationalityFrench
Listed height2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight112 kg (247 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2016Élan Chalon
2016–2017Nanterre 92
2017–2018Crvena zvezda
2018–2019Unicaja
2019–2020Bayern Munich
2020–presentMonaco
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
FIBA World Cup
2019 China

Early years

Born in the French overseas department of Martinique, 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.[1]

Professional career

Lessort was handed his first professional contract by the club in June 2014[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] In 2015-16, he logged his first minutes in a European club competition, the FIBA Europe Cup.[5]

In April 2016, he declared for the NBA draft,[6] but later withdrew.[7] On June 1, 2016, he joined JSF Nanterre of the French Pro A on a three-year deal.[8] In April 2017, Lessort won both the French Basketball Cup and the FIBA Europe Cup championships with Nanterre.[9]

On August 11, 2017, Lessort signed a three-year deal with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.[10][11] He played there only in the 2017–18 season, before signing with Spanish ACB side Unicaja in July 2018.[12]

Lessort spent the 2019-20 season in Germany with Bayern Munich. On September 18, 2020, Lessort signed with AS Monaco of the LNB Pro A.[13]

NBA draft rights

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.[14] On November 19, 2020, his draft rights were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.[15] Lessort's draft rights were traded again, to the New York Knicks, on November 20.[16]

National team career

Lessort played in the 2013 Nike Global Challenge, averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game,[17] while receiving International All-Tournament Team honors.[18]

He represented France at the 2014[19] and 2015 U20 European Championships. In 2015, he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds en route to a semifinal appearance.[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  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

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2017–18 Crvena zvezda 302921.1.549.000.6325.7.8.8.78.510.7
Career 302921.1.549.000.6325.7.8.8.78.510.7

Personal life

His brother Grégory Lessort is also a professional basketball player.[21]

References
  1. "Premier contrat pro pour Mathias Lessort et Axel Bouteille". Élan Chalon. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  2. "Chalon : Premiers contrats pros pour Lessort et Bouteille". France info (in French). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  3. "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. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  4. "Mathias Lessort - Chalon/Saône – Joueurs - Pro A – LNB.fr". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  5. "Mathias Lessort | FIBA Europe Cup". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  6. "Mathias Lessort (Chalon) se présentera à la Draft NBA". L'Equipe.fr (in French). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  7. 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.
  8. "JSF Nanterre - Mathias Lessort, nouvelle recrue de Nanterre 92 !". www.nanterre92.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  9. "Nanterre continue magical week; hold off Elan Chalon in title-decider". FIBA Europe Cup. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  10. "Mathias Lessort is the new Crvena zvezda mts reinforcement". aba-liga.com. August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  11. "Zvezda adds young rebounding ace Lessort". www.euroleague.net. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. VincentCouty. "Matthias Lessort arrive en Liga Endesa... Destination Unicaja Malaga !!". Inside Basket Europe (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  13. "Mathias Lessort officially joins AS Monaco". Sportando. September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  14. "HEAT Acquire Butler And Leonard". NBA.com. July 6, 2019. the Clippers received...the draft rights to Mathias Lessort from Philadelphia
  15. "LA Clippers Acquire Draft Rights to Daniel Oturu". nba.com. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  16. "Knicks Acquire Draft Rights to Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley". NBA.com. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  17. "Tournament Individual Leaders" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  18. "Info | Nike Global Challenge". www.nikeglobalchallenge.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  19. "Mathias Lessort | U20 European Championship Men (2014) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  20. "Mathias Lessort | U20 Europe Championship Men - Division A". u20men.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  21. "Pas d'erreur, c'est Lessort !". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
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