Aleksej Pokuševski facts for kids
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Pokuševski with Partizan in 2024
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| No. 11 – Partizan Mozzart Bet | |
|---|---|
| Power forward / small forward | |
| 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 |
Aleksej Pokuševski (born December 26, 2001) is a professional basketball player from Serbia. He plays for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. He also plays in the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague.
Pokuševski is very tall, standing at 7 feet (2.13 meters). He plays as a power forward or small forward. 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. He was only 17 years old then. This made him the youngest EuroLeague player in the club's history.
In 2020, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked him 17th overall in the 2020 NBA draft. He was then traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Early Basketball Journey
Pokuševski grew up in Novi Sad, Serbia. He began playing youth basketball for local teams there. These teams included KK Kadet, KK NS Stars, and Vojvodina.
In 2015, Pokuševski joined the youth program of Olympiacos in Greece. He took part in special basketball camps. These included the Jordan Brand Classic camp in 2017. In 2018, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Belgrade. He was invited to another camp in North Carolina in 2019. However, he could not go because his U.S. visa was not approved.
Professional Career Highlights
Playing for Olympiacos (2019–2020)
Pokuševski made his EuroLeague debut with Olympiacos on March 19, 2019. He played against the German team Bayern Munich. He scored 1 point and had 2 rebounds in just one minute of play.
At 17 years and 83 days old, he became the youngest player to ever play for Olympiacos in the EuroLeague. He broke the record set by Georgios Printezis.
For the 2019–20 season, Pokuševski played for Olympiacos's reserve team. This team played in the Greek A2 League, which is Greece's second-highest league. He missed almost three months of playing time that season due to a knee injury.
Pokuševski played in 11 games in the Greek A2 League. He started in eight of those games. He averaged about 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He also had 3.1 assists and 1.8 blocks. Later in the season, he was called up to the main Olympiacos team. He played in one EuroLeague game before the season stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 24, 2020, Pokuševski announced he would enter the 2020 NBA draft. He left Olympiacos on November 24, 2020, after being drafted.
Time with Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2024)
On November 18, 2020, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked Pokuševski as the 17th overall player in the 2020 NBA draft. He was the youngest player chosen that year. Two days later, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He signed with the Thunder on December 9, 2020. This made him the youngest active player in the NBA that season.
On February 3, 2021, Pokuševski was sent to the Oklahoma City Blue. This is the Thunder's team in the NBA G League. On March 14, he made his first NBA start. He scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He also had 4 assists in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
At 19 years and 78 days old, he became the youngest Thunder player to score over 20 points and get 10 rebounds. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to achieve 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ three-pointers in a game. He was also the second-youngest player in NBA history to make five three-pointers in a game, after LeBron James.
On April 3, 2022, Pokuševski achieved his first NBA triple-double. He had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in a win against the Phoenix Suns. He became the seventh Thunder player to get a triple-double. He was also the 12th-youngest player in NBA history to do so, after Magic Johnson.
In July 2022, Pokuševski played for the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Summer League. He was unable to play for a few months from December 2022 to March 2023 due to a leg injury. On February 23, 2024, the Thunder released him from their team.
Playing for Charlotte Hornets (2024)
On February 28, 2024, Pokuševski signed with the Charlotte Hornets. He played for them for a short time. On July 6, he was released by the Hornets.
Return to Partizan (2024–present)
On August 20, 2024, Pokuševski signed with Partizan. This team plays in the ABA League, the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), and the EuroLeague.
National Team Career
Pokuševski has played for the Serbian national basketball teams for young players.
He was part of the Serbian under-17 team in the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina. In seven games, he averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game.
He also played for the Serbian under-18 team in the 2019 FIBA Under-18 European Championship in Greece. In seven games, he averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 4.0 blocks per game.
Pokuševski was considered for the Serbian senior team for EuroBasket 2022. However, he was not able to join the team.
Career Statistics
Here are some of Aleksej Pokuševski's career statistics in the NBA and EuroLeague.
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 |
| Charlotte | 18 | 0 | 19.2 | .429 | .364 | .757 | 4.4 | 1.7 | .8 | .7 | 7.4 | |
| Career | 168 | 65 | 20.4 | .391 | .304 | .702 | 4.6 | 1.9 | .6 | .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 | 3 | 0 | 2.7 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .7 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .3 | -0.7 | |
About His Life
Pokuševski's family comes from Priština. Because of events in 1999, his family moved to Podgorica and then to Belgrade, where Aleksej was born in 2001. After that, his family settled in Novi Sad. His family also has roots in a region called Galicia, which is now part of Ukraine.
When he was 13, in 2015, Pokuševski moved to Greece to join the youth team of Olympiacos. Because he started playing in Greek competitions before he was 14, he is considered a local player there. He could choose to play for either Serbia or Greece in national team games, and he chose to represent Serbia.
His father, Saša Pokuševski, was also a professional basketball player and 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
