Aleksej Pokuševski facts for kids
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Pokuševski with Partizan in 2024
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| No. 11 – Partizan Mozzart Bet | |
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| Power forward / center | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 26 December 2001 Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17th overall |
| Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Pro career | 2019–present |
| League | KLS ABA League EuroLeague |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2020 | Olympiacos |
| 2019–2020 | →Olympiacos B |
| 2020–2024 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2020–2023 | →Oklahoma City Blue |
| 2024 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2024 | →Greensboro Swarm |
| 2024–present | Partizan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Aleksej Pokuševski (born on December 26, 2001) is a professional basketball player from Serbia. He currently plays for Partizan Mozzart Bet. This team competes in the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), the ABA League, and the EuroLeague. Aleksej is very tall, standing at 7 feet (2.13 meters), and he weighs 210 pounds (95 kg). He plays in two main positions: power forward and center.
Aleksej was born in Belgrade, Serbia. He started his basketball journey as a young player for the Greek club Olympiacos. He made his first appearance for their main team in 2018 when he was just 17 years old. This made him the youngest player in the club's history to play in the EuroLeague. In the 2020 NBA draft, he was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the 17th overall pick. Soon after, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Early Basketball Days
Aleksej Pokuševski grew up in Novi Sad, a city in Serbia. He began playing basketball for local youth teams there. These teams included KK Kadet, KK NS Stars, and Vojvodina. In 2015, he joined the youth program of Olympiacos, a famous Greek basketball club.
In 2017, Aleksej took part in the Jordan Brand Classic camp. This is a special event for talented young basketball players. The next year, in August 2018, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Belgrade, Serbia. In February 2019, he was invited to another Basketball Without Borders camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. However, he could not go because his request for a U.S. visa was not approved.
Professional Career Highlights
Starting with Olympiacos (2019–2020)
Aleksej Pokuševski made his first EuroLeague appearance for Olympiacos on March 19, 2019. This was during a game against the German team Bayern Munich. He played for one minute and scored 1 point, grabbed 2 rebounds, and made 1 assist. At 17 years and 83 days old, he became the youngest player ever to debut for Olympiacos in the EuroLeague. He broke the record previously held by Georgios Printezis.
For the 2019–20 season, Aleksej was sent to play for Olympiacos' reserve team, Olympiacos B. This team plays in the Greek A2 League, which is the second-highest league in Greece. During this season, he missed almost three months of playing time because of a knee injury.
Aleksej started in eight of his 11 games in the Greek A2 League. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. He shot well from the field and from the three-point line. Later in the season, the main Olympiacos EuroLeague team had many injured players. Aleksej was called up to play for them. He played two minutes in one EuroLeague game before the season was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 24, 2020, Aleksej announced he would enter the 2020 NBA draft. He had a contract with Olympiacos until the end of the 2023–24 season. This contract included a special clause for the NBA. If he was picked in the top 20 of the draft, his team could buy out his contract for €1 million. After being selected in the NBA draft, Aleksej left Olympiacos on November 24, 2020.
Time with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2024)
On November 18, 2020, Aleksej Pokuševski was chosen as the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was the youngest player picked that year. Two days later, his draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On December 9, 2020, he officially signed with the Thunder. This made him the youngest active player in the NBA that season.
On February 3, 2021, Aleksej was sent to play for the Oklahoma City Blue. This is the Thunder's team in the NBA G League. On March 14, he made his first NBA career start. In that game, he scored 23 points, made five 3-pointers, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, and had 4 assists. The Thunder won the game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Aleksej became the third Thunder rookie to achieve a "20-10 double-double" (20+ points and 10+ rebounds). At 19 years and 78 days old, he also became the youngest player in the team's history to score 20 or more points. He also set a league record for being the youngest player with 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ three-pointers in a game.
On April 3, 2022, Aleksej achieved his first NBA triple-double. A triple-double means getting double-digit numbers in three different stats (like points, rebounds, and assists). He had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in a win against the Phoenix Suns. He became the seventh Thunder player and the 12th-youngest player in NBA history to get a triple-double.
In July 2022, Aleksej played for the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Summer League. On November 22, he scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a game against the Boston Celtics. From December 2022 to March 2023, Aleksej could not play because of a leg injury. On February 23, 2024, the Thunder decided to release him from their team.
Playing for the Charlotte Hornets (2024)
On February 28, 2024, Aleksej Pokuševski signed with the Charlotte Hornets. He played for them for a short time. On July 6, the Hornets released him.
Return to Partizan Belgrade (2024–Present)
On August 20, 2024, Aleksej Pokuševski signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet. This team plays in the ABA League, the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), and the EuroLeague. In his first season back with Partizan, Aleksej averaged 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 27 EuroLeague games. During the 2024–25 season, Partizan won the ABA League championship. They also won the Serbian League championship, which was their first in 11 seasons.
Playing for His Country
Aleksej Pokuševski has also played for the Serbian national basketball teams.
He was part of the Serbian national under-17 team that played in the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina. In seven games, he averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game.
Aleksej was also a member of the Serbian national under-18 team. They competed in the 2019 FIBA Under-18 European Championship in Greece. Over seven games, he averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.7 steals, and 4.0 blocks per game.
He was initially considered for the Serbian team for EuroBasket 2022. However, he was not able to join the team because the Oklahoma City Thunder did not approve it.
Personal Background
Aleksej Pokuševski's family originally came from Priština. Because of the Kosovo War in 1999, his family moved to Podgorica (which is now in Montenegro). Later, they moved to Belgrade, Serbia, where Aleksej was born in 2001. After that, Aleksej and his family settled permanently in Novi Sad. His ancestors are from a region called Galicia, which is now part of Ukraine.
When Aleksej was 13, in 2015, he signed a contract with the Greek basketball club Olympiacos and moved to Greece. Because he started playing in Greek competitions before he was 14, he is considered a local Greek player there. He could have chosen to play for either Serbia or Greece in national team competitions, and he chose to represent Serbia. His father, Saša Pokuševski, was also a professional basketball player and is now a coach. His father played for KK Priština and coached KK Novi Sad.
See also
In Spanish: Aleksej Pokuševski para niños
- List of Serbian NBA players
