Mathias Lessort

Mathias Michel Lessort (born 29 September 1995) is a French professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He stands 206 cm (6’9’’) tall and plays at the center position. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2023 and 2024, Lessort won the EuroLeague title in 2024 with Panathinaikos.

Born in the French overseas department of Martinique and raised in Le Morne-Vert until the age of 15,^[1] 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.^[2]

Mathias Lessort is the youngest of three brothers; his siblings include Grégory Lessort—also a professional basketball player—and Mickaël, who played the sport at the high school level but did not pursue it professionally.^[3][4]

Lessort maintains a close relationship with his family and often returns to Martinique during off-season breaks to reconnect with his roots and loved ones.^[5]

He is married to Traicy, and together they have two children. Their first son, Matson, has been publicly mentioned by Lessort, who once remarked, “My son, Matson, will definitely be the loudest in the arena.”^[6] Their second child was born on **9 July 2025**, an event his wife shared on social media.^[7]

In December 2024, following a serious leg injury, Lessort shared an Instagram photo with his son, highlighting his role as a devoted father.^[8]

Lessort was handed his first professional contract by the club in June 2014^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] In 2015–16, he logged his first minutes in a European club competition, the FIBA Europe Cup.^[12]

In April 2016, he declared for the NBA draft,^[13] but later withdrew.^[14] On 1 June 2016 he joined JSF Nanterre of the French Pro A on a three-year deal.^[15] In April 2017, Lessort won both the French Basketball Cup and the FIBA Europe Cup championships with Nanterre.^[16]

On 11 August 2017 Lessort signed a three-year deal with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.^[17][18] He played there only in the 2017–18 season, before signing with Spanish ACB side Unicaja in July 2018.^[19]

Lessort spent the 2019–20 season in Germany with Bayern Munich.

On 18 September 2020, Lessort signed with AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A.^[20]

On 25 September 2021, Lessort signed a 2-month contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League in order to replace the injured Ante Žižić.^[21] In five games, Lessort averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He parted ways with the team on 26 November.^[22]

On 20 December 2021, Lessort signed with KK Partizan of the Basketball League of Serbia, the ABA League and the EuroCup.^[23]

On 18 July 2022, he signed a new contract with Partizan.^[24] Under coach Željko Obradović. He was one of the most useful players in the Euroleague, he was in the first team of the Euroleague, and he was also one of the main candidates for the MVP title. During the 2022–23 season, Partizan was eliminated from the Real Madrid in tight playoffs series. Over the season, Lessort averaged 12 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after 3–2 score against Crvena zvezda in the Finals series.^[25]

On 27 June 2023, Lessort signed a two-year contract with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. On February 29, 2024, in a 97–86 win against Real Madrid, Lessort set his EuroLeague career-high of 26 points, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists. On May 26, 2024, Lessort helped Panathinaikos win its seventh EuroLeague title by scoring 17 points and recording 6 rebounds in a 95–80 win over Real Madrid in the final.

On December 19, 2024, during a EuroLeague match against Baskonia, Lessort suffered a serious fibula fracture in his left leg.^[26][27] The injury caused panic inside the arena, with several fans fainting and one suffering a heart attack.^[28] He underwent successful surgery the following day at HYGEIA hospital, performed by team physician Dr. Athanasios Konidis.^[29][30] Initial estimates suggested an absence of approximately four months.^[31][32]

Despite the severity, Lessort began rehabilitation quickly and made a surprising return during the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi, where he logged minutes in the semifinal against Fenerbahçe Beko.^[33][34] However, he was later omitted from Panathinaikos’s roster for the domestic league finals against Olympiacos. Team doctor Thanasis Konidis explained that while Lessort was medically cleared to play, the coaching staff decided to rest him, emphasizing the need to rebuild confidence after such a significant injury rather than any medical restriction.^[35]

On December 31, 2024, and whilst being injured, Lessort officially signed the newly offered three-year contract extension with the defending EuroLeague champions through 2028.^[36]

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.^[37] On 19 November 2020 his draft rights were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[38] Lessort's draft rights were traded again, to the New York Knicks, on 20 November.^[39]

On February 6, 2025, Lessort's draft rights were included in a four-team trade and ultimately acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks.^[40][41][42]

Lessort played in the 2013 Nike Global Challenge, averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game,^[43] while receiving International All-Tournament Team honors.^[44]

He represented France at the 2014^[45] and 2015 U20 European Championships. In 2015, he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds en route to a semifinal appearance.^[46] As a member of the French men's national team, he captured a bronze medal at the 2019 World Cup^[47] and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

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

†	Competition Winner
*	Led the league
	Denotes season with 50%+ of games missed due to injury

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2017–18	Crvena zvezda	30	29	21.1	.549	.000	.632	5.7	.8	.8	.7	8.5	10.7
2019–20	Bayern Munich	22	4	11.3	.528	—	.600	2.2	.5	.5	.5	3.8	4.2
2021–22	Maccabi Tel Aviv	5	3	11.7	.737	—	.562	3.4	.6	1.0	—	7.4	9.2
2022–23	Partizan	38	23	30.2	.674	.000	.734	7.1*	1.4	.9	.8	12.0	19.1
2023–24†	Panathinaikos	41*	29	29.4	.624	.000	.607	6.3	1.4	1.0	.9	13.9	19.6
2024–25	Panathinaikos	19	16	25.4	.714	.000	.644	6.5	1.6	1.0	0.7	13.0	20.1
Career		155	104	24.3	.631	.000	.647	5.7	1.1	.9	.7	10.6	15.3

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2018–19	Málaga	19	11	21.9	.701	—	.602	5.4	1.1	.9	1.3	11.0	16.6
2020–21	Monaco	23	17	24.6	.583	.000	.672	6.1	1.1	.9	1.2	12.5	17.8
2021–22	Partizan	10	4	23.4	.634	—	.683	6.4	1.0	1.0	.5	13.1	19.1
Career		52	32	23.4	.630	.000	.651	5.9	1.1	.9	1.1	12.1	17.6

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Élan Chalon	18	6	16.1	.623	—	.721	5.0	.8	.4	.9	7.2
2016–17	Nanterre	20	18	21.3	.634	.000	.689	6.3	.6	.7	1.3	9.9
Career		38	24	18.8	.630	.000	.705	5.7	.7	.6	1.1	8.6

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	Élan Chalon	Pro A	23	5.9	.586	.000	.667	2.3	.1	.3	.2	2.2
2015–16	Élan Chalon	Pro A	34	12.4	.625	1.000	.633	4.4	.7	.4	.8	5.6
2016–17	Nanterre	Pro A	36	22.9	.574	1.000	.593	7.2	.7	.7	1.0	10.2
2017–18	Crvena zvezda	KLS	15	12.0	.563	.500	.657	3.8	.4	.7	.3	4.0
2017–18	Crvena zvezda	ABA	29	18.4	.671	—	.608	4.4	.6	.9	.9	8.8
2018–19	Málaga	ACB	37	20.0	.566	—	.647	5.3	1.0	.9	.5	8.6
2019–20	Bayern Munich	BBL	19	15.8	.620	—	.565	3.9	.8	.8	1.1	6.5
2020–21	Monaco	LNB Élite	31	21.7	.610	.000	.565	5.6	2.0	1.0	.7	10.8
2021–22	Partizan	ABA	22	22.8	.632	—	.664	5.9	1.6	.7	.9	10.1
2022–23	Partizan	ABA	32	21.6	.692	—	.704	5.2	1.4	1.1	.6	9.3
2023–24†	Panathinaikos	GBL	28	21.0	.630	.000	.674	5.1	1.0	1.0	.6	10.8
2023–24	Panathinaikos	GBL	9	17.4	.574	.000	.675	4.4	1.0	0.6	.2	9.9

• Chevalier in the French Order of Merit: 2024^[48]

• Mathias Lessort at aba-liga.com
• Mathias Lessort at draftexpress.com
• Mathias Lessort at Eurobasket.com
• Mathias Lessort at euroleaguebasketball.net
• Mathias Lessort at lequipe.fr