Aleksej Pokuševski

Aleksej Pokuševski
No. 17 – Charlotte Hornets
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-12-26) 26 December 2001 (age 22)
Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2020: 1st round, 17th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Olympiacos
2019–2020→Olympiacos B
2020–2024Oklahoma City Thunder
2021–2023→Oklahoma City Blue
2024–presentCharlotte Hornets
2024→Greensboro Swarm
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Aleksej Pokuševski (Serbian Cyrillic: Алексеј Покушевски; born 26 December 2001) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) and weighing 210 pounds (95 kg), he plays both the Power forward and Center positions.

Born in Belgrade, Pokuševski was previously a youth player for the Greek club, Olympiacos. He debuted for their senior team in 2018, at age 17 and becoming the youngest EuroLeague player in club history. He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft and traded to the Thunder.

Early career

Pokuševski grew up in Novi Sad, where he started to play youth basketball for local clubs, KK Kadet, KK NS Stars and Vojvodina. In 2015, Pokuševski joined the youth system of Olympiacos. In 2017, he participated in the Jordan Brand Classic camp. In August 2018, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp, in Belgrade, Serbia.[1] In February 2019, Pokuševski was invited for the NBA All-Star Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, but eventually missed the event after being rejected for a U.S. visa.[2]

Professional career

Olympiacos (2019–2020)

On 19 March 2019, Pokuševski made his EuroLeague debut with Olympiacos, in a 89–69 win over the German club Bayern Munich, during the EuroLeague's 2018–19 season. He recorded 1 point, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, in one minute played during the game.[3] Pokuševski became the youngest senior men's Olympiacos player to ever debut in the EuroLeague. At 17 years and 83 days old, he replaced Georgios Printezis, who had previously debuted in the EuroLeague, at the age of 17 years and 229 days, as the club's youngest-ever EuroLeague player.[4]

For the 2019–20 season, Pokuševski was assigned to play in the Greek A2 League, the country's second-tier league, with Olympiacos' reserve team, Olympiacos B. He initially played for the senior EuroLeague club's practice squad. During the season, Pokuševski missed almost 3 months of playing time, due to a knee injury.[5][6]

Pokuševski started in eight of his 11 appearances in the Greek A2, averaging 10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game. He shot 40.4 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three-point range, and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.[7] In the middle of the season, Olympiacos' main EuroLeague team was riddled with injuries, and Pokuševski was called up to the senior team. He played two minutes in his only EuroLeague game of the season,[8] before the league's season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

On 24 April 2020, Pokuševski declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[9] Pokuševski's Olympiacos contract lasts through the end of the 2023–24 season. The contract's buyout clause for the NBA is €1 million, if he is a top-20 draft pick, or €1.5 million, if he is a top-14 lottery pick.[10][11] Following selection in the NBA draft, Pokuševski left Olympiacos on 24 November 2020.[12]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2024)

On November 18, 2020, Pokuševski was selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the youngest player selected that year.[13][14] Two days later, his draft rights were sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team trade[15] and on 9 December 2020, he signed with the Thunder,[16] becoming the youngest active player in the NBA that season.[17] On 3 February 2021, Pokuševski received his first assignment at the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's affiliate team in the NBA G League[18] and on 14 March, he made his first NBA career start where he scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and dished out 4 assists in a 128–122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the third Thunder rookie (following Russell Westbrook and Darius Bazley) to post a 20–10 double-double. At 19 years and 78 days old, he became the youngest player in franchise history to score 20-plus points while also setting the record for being the youngest player in league history with 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 5-plus three-pointers made in a game. Pokuševski also became the second-youngest player in NBA history to make five three-pointers in a game behind only LeBron James in 2004.[19][20]

On April 3, 2022, Pokuševski recorded his first NBA triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 117–96 win over the Phoenix Suns,[21][22][23] becoming the seventh Thunder and the 12th-youngest player in NBA history (after Magic Johnson) to achieve a triple-double.[24]

In July 2022, Pokuševski joined the Thunder for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[25] On November 22, Pokuševski scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds during a 126–122 loss to the Boston Celtics.[26] From December 2022 to March 2023, Pokuševski was unable to play due to a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his left leg.[27]

On 23 February 2024, Pokuševski was waived by the Thunder.[28]

Charlotte Hornets (2024–present)

On February 28, 2024, Pokuševski signed with the Charlotte Hornets.[29]

National team career

Pokuševski was a member of the Serbian national under-17 team that competed at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, in Argentina. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks per game.[30]

Pokuševski was a member of the Serbian national under-18 team that competed at the 2019 FIBA Under-18 European Championship, in Volos, Greece. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.7 steals and 4.0 blocks per game.[31]

Initially at the preliminary Serbia roster for EuroBasket 2022, Pokuševski was cut from the squad due to disapproval of the Thunder.[32][33]

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

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Oklahoma City 45 28 24.2 .341 .280 .738 4.7 2.2 .4 .9 8.2
2021–22 Oklahoma City 61 12 20.2 .408 .289 .700 5.2 2.1 .6 .6 7.6
2022–23 Oklahoma City 34 25 20.6 .434 .365 .629 4.7 1.9 .6 1.3 8.1
2023–24 Oklahoma City 10 0 6.0 .250 .182 .500 1.0 .5 .1 .1 1.2
Career 150 65 20.6 .387 .299 .687 4.7 2.0 .5 .8 7.5

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2018–19 Olympiacos 2 0 2.9 .000 .000 .500 1.0 .5 .5 .0 .5 .0
2019–20 1 0 2 .000 — — .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 -2.0
Career[34] 3 0 2.7 .000 .000 .500 .7 .3 .3 .0 .3 -0.7

Personal life

Pokuševski's family originates from Priština. Due to the Kosovo War in 1999, his family escaped to Podgorica (nowadays in Montenegro), and moved to Belgrade, Serbia, afterwards, where Pokuševski was born in 2001. Thereafter, Pokuševski and his family permanently moved to Novi Sad.[35] Pokuševki's family hails from Galicia, present-day Ukraine.[36]

After signing a youth team contract with the Greek basketball club Olympiacos, Pokuševski moved to Greece in 2015, at the age of 13. While playing in Greek competitions, he counts as a native Greek domestic player, since he started competing in Greek competitions before the age of 14.[37] He was eligible to represent either Serbia or Greece in national team competitions, and he chose to represent Serbia.[38] His father Saša Pokuševski,[39] is a former professional basketball player and a coach. His father played basketball with KK Priština, and coached KK Novi Sad.

Pokuševski is a fan of Partizan.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jokic, Vucevic Headline Basketball Without Borders Europe 2018". global.nba.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  2. ^ "2019 NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokić and Nikola Vučević, Deandre Ayton and Bogdan Bogdanović to coach top international prospects at fifth annual Basketball Without Borders Camp". pr.nba.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  3. ^ "2018-19 Regular Season Round 27 Olympiacos Piraeus 89 - 69 FC Bayern Munich". euroleague.net. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Aleksej Pokusevski became youngest ever Olympiacos player to debut in EuroLeague". eurohoops.net. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ^ 2020 NBA Draft Profile: Aleksej Pokusevski.
  6. ^ "Aleksej Pokusevski Injury History". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ^ International Regular Season Stats - Per Game.
  8. ^ POKUSEVSKI, ALEKSEJ OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS EuroLeague 2019-20 STATISTICS.
  9. ^ Givony, Jonathan (25 April 2020). "Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski declares for NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ O ‘’Ποκού’’ φέρνει ζεστό χρήμα στο ταμείο του Ολυμπιακού! (in Italian).
  11. ^ Aleksej Pokusevski's NBA buyout may reportedly near 1.5M.
  12. ^ "Pokuševski se oprostio od Olimpijakosa (VIDEO)". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  13. ^ Salvador, Joseph (18 November 2020). "NBA draft 2020: Five things to know about Aleksej Pokusevski, taken 17th overall by the Timberwolves". USAToday.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. ^ Hamilton, Moke (3 December 2020). "'It was perfect': Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski excited to be in OKC". USAToday.com. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Thunder Acquires Draft Rights to Aleksej Pokuševski, James Johnson and 2024 Second-Round Draft Pick". NBA.com. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Thunder Signs Aleksej Pokuševski". NBA.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  17. ^ Nilon, Mark (18 March 2021). "OKC Thunder: Aleksej Pokusevski viewed as a 'player to watch' in fantasy". ThunderousIntentions.com. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Thunder Assigns Four to Blue". NBA.com. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. ^ Gallo, Nick (14 March 2021). "By the Numbers: Thunder Comes Back, Poku Soars". NBA.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  20. ^ Newman, Logan (14 March 2021). "Poku's double-double, 3-point barrage leads Thunder over Grizzlies". USAToday.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  21. ^ Sellars, Tony (3 April 2022). "WITH BOOKER RESTING, SARR, POKUVESKI LEAD THUNDER PAST SUNS". NBA.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Prvi tripl-dabl u NBA karijeri Alekseja Pokuševskog". MozzartSport.com (in Serbian). 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Aleksej Pokusevski surprises with triple-double as Thunder rout Suns". Reuters.com. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Pokuševski tik iza velikog Medžika Džonsona". MozzartSport.com (in Serbian). 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  26. ^ Alden, Doug (15 November 2022). "SMART HELPS CELTICS BEAT THUNDER FOR 7TH STRAIGHT WIN". NBA.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  27. ^ Stiles, Rylan (15 March 2023). "Aleksej Pokusevski sees first game action since December". ThunderousIntentions.com. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  28. ^ "THUNDER WAIVES POKUŠEVSKI". NBA.com. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Hornets Sign Aleksej Pokusevski". NBA.com. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Aleksej POKUSEVSKI at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  31. ^ "2019 Serbia U18 - Pokusevski". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Problemi za Srbiju: Majami i Oklahoma nisu pustili Jovića i Pokuševskog". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  33. ^ "Pešić otkrio: Jović i Pokuševski nisu dobili dozvolu". b92.net. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  34. ^ POKUSEVSKI, ALEKSEJ Career Stats EuroLeague.
  35. ^ "Zapamtite ovo ime – Aleksej Pokuševski VIDEO". b92.net (in Serbian). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  36. ^ "Ukrajino moja - Nedeljnik Vreme". Vreme.com (in Serbian). 14 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  37. ^ The progress card of 10 European NBA draft prospects.
  38. ^ "About Aleksej Pokusevski". NBA.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  39. ^ Sasa Pokusevski.
  40. ^ "Pokuševski: Bio sam na večeri sa Pešićem; Jokić mi je mnogo pomogao". b92.net. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.

External links