Aleksej Pokuševski ( sr-cyr, Алексеј Покушевски; born 26 December 2001) is a Serbian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Partizan Mozzart Bet of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

(KLS), the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. Standing at and weighing , he plays at both the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and center positions. Born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Pokuševski was previously a youth player for the Greek club,

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. He debuted for their senior team in 2018, at age 17 and becoming the youngest

player in club history. He was selected by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

with the 17th overall pick in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

and traded to the Thunder.

Early career

Pokuševski grew up in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, where he started to play youth basketball for local clubs, KK Kadet, KK NS Stars and

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. In 2015, Pokuševski joined the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. In 2017, he participated in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

camp. In August 2018, he attended the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Europe camp, in

, Serbia. In February 2019, Pokuševski was invited for the

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, but eventually missed the event after being rejected for a U.S. visa.

Professional career

Olympiacos (2019–2020)

On 19 March 2019, Pokuševski made his

debut with

, in a 89–69 win over the German club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, during the EuroLeague's 2018–19 season. He recorded 1 point, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, in one minute played during the game. 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. 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 In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

Olympiacos B Olympiacos Football Club B, or simply Olympiacos B (), is the reserve team of Greek club Olympiacos that will be competing in the Super League Greece 2. It was founded in 2021. Stadium The stadium that hosted Olympiacos B' is the Rentis Train ...

. He initially played for the senior EuroLeague club's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. During the season, Pokuševski missed almost 3 months of playing time, due to a knee injury. 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. 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, before the league's season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Europe The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and al ...

. On 24 April 2020, Pokuševski declared for the

. Pokuševski was under contract with

through the end of the 2023–24 season. The contract's

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

for the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

was €1 million if he was a top-20

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

pick, or €1.5 million if he was a top-14 lottery pick. Following selection in the NBA draft, Pokuševski left Olympiacos on 24 November 2020.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2024)

On November 18, 2020, Pokuševski was selected with the 17th overall pick in the

by the

, becoming the youngest player selected that year. Two days later, his draft rights were sent to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

in a three-team trade and on 9 December 2020, he signed with the Thunder, becoming the youngest active player in the NBA that season. On 3 February 2021, Pokuševski received his first assignment at the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

, the Thunder's affiliate team in the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

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 The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, becoming the third Thunder rookie (following

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member o ...

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 LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

in 2004. On April 3, 2022, Pokuševski recorded his first NBA

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 117–96 win over the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, becoming the seventh Thunder and the 12th-youngest player in NBA history (after

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...

) to achieve a triple-double. In July 2022, Pokuševski joined the Thunder for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

. On November 22, Pokuševski scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds during a 126–122 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. From December 2022 to March 2023, Pokuševski was unable to play due to a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his left leg. On 23 February 2024, Pokuševski was waived by the Thunder.

Charlotte Hornets (2024)

On 28 February 2024, Pokuševski signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. On 6 July, he was waived by Charlotte.

Partizan Mozzart Bet (2024–present)

On 20 August 2024, Pokuševski signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet of the

(KLS) and the

. In his debut season with Partizan, Pokuševski averaged 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds over 27 EuroLeague games.

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 Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks per game. Pokuševski was a member of the Serbian national under-18 team that competed at the 2019 FIBA Under-18 European Championship, in

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. 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. Initially at the preliminary Serbia roster for

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

, Pokuševski was cut from the squad due to disapproval of the Thunder.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align=left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align-left;" rowspan="2",

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , - , style="text-align=left;", 2019–20 , 1 , , 0 , , 1.8 , , .000 , , , , , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , -2.0 , - , style="text-align=left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;", Partizan , 27 , , 7 , , 12.8 , , .455 , , .295 , , .692 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 3.9 , , 4.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 7 , , 11.8 , , .436 , , .289 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .9 , , 3.5 , , 4.2

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 45 , , 28 , , 24.2 , , .341 , , .280 , , .738 , , 4.7 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .9 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 12 , , 20.2 , , .408 , , .289 , , .700 , , 5.2 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 25 , , 20.6 , , .434 , , .365 , , .629 , , 4.7 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .250 , , .182 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 18 , , 0 , , 19.2 , , .429 , , .364 , , .757 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .7 , , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 168 , , 65 , , 20.4 , , .391 , , .304 , , .702 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .8 , , 7.5

Personal life

Pokuševski's family originates from

Priština Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

. Due to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

in 1999, his family escaped to

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

(nowadays in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

), and moved to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, afterwards, where Pokuševski was born in 2001. Thereafter, Pokuševski and his family permanently moved to

. Pokuševki's ancestors hail from Galicia, present-day Ukraine. After signing a youth team contract with the Greek basketball club

, 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. He was eligible to represent either Serbia or Greece in national team competitions, and he chose to represent