Alex Poythress (born September 6, 1993) is an American-Ivorian 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 (appr ...

player for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

of the

Israeli Premier Basketball League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

and the EuroLeague. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee in 2011–12 in his senior year of high school, and was the TSSAA Class AAA Mr. Basketball his senior year. He was a 5-star recruit out of Northeast High School in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

, during 2011–12. He played college basketball for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

High school career

Poythress was rated as the number 17 player in the class of 2012 in the

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

100, the number 10 player by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

, and the number 8 player by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. Poythress chose Kentucky over offers from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and Vanderbilt, among others.

College career

On December 12, 2014, Poythress was ruled out for the rest of the 2014–15 season after tearing the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his left knee during practice the previous day. Poythress returned to Kentucky for his senior season, and averaged 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. As of the 2020–21 season, Poythress remained one of only five players to play four scholarship seasons under

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

at Kentucky.

Professional career

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Poythress joined the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On August 29, 2016, he signed with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He was waived by the Pacers on October 17, 2016 after appearing in two preseason games. On October 31, 2016, he was acquired by the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of the Pacers.

Philadelphia 76ers (2017)

On April 2, 2017, Poythress signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

to help the team deal with numerous injuries. Philadelphia had to use an NBA hardship exemption in order to sign him as he made their roster stand at 16, one over the allowed limited of 15. He made his NBA debut that night, scoring 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench in a 113–105 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. On April 11, 2017, he signed with the 76ers for the remainder of the season.

Indiana Pacers (2017–2018)

On August 22, 2017, Poythress signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

by the

. Under the terms of the deal, he will split time between the Pacers and their G-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, with him projected to return to Fort Wayne once again for the majority of the season. However, on December 28, 2017, Poythress' contract would be converted into a full, regular season contract despite him playing in only 11 games with the Pacers by that point. On July 6, 2018, he was waived by the Pacers.

Atlanta Hawks (2018–2019)

On August 20, 2018, Poythress signed a two-way deal with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. Poythress appeared in 21 games for the Hawks (one start), averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also averaged 23.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks in 18 G-League games for the Erie Bayhawks.

Jilin Northeast Tigers (2019)

On August 12, 2019, Poythress signed with

Jilin Northeast Tigers The Jilin Northeast Tigers () or Jilin Tonggang, Jilin Tonggang Northeast Tigers () or Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank are a professional basketball team based in Changchun, Jilin, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball A ...

of the CBA.

Galatasaray Doğa Sigorta (2019–2020)

On December 2, 2019, he signed with

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(BSL). Poythress averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the team.

Zenit (2020–2022)

On July 7, 2020, he signed with

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

and the EuroLeague. On June 16, 2021, Poythress renewed his contract with the Russian club.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2022–present)

On June 21, 2022, he signed with

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

and EuroLeague.

International career

Poythress received an Ivorian passport in 2022 in order to play for their national team and to not be considered an import player under the Cotonou Agreement.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 6 , , 1 , , 26.2 , , .463 , , .316 , , .800 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 25 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .423 , , .364 , , – , , .7 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 21 , , 1 , , 14.5 , , .494 , , .391 , , .621 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , .5 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 52 , , 2 , , 10.9 , , .472 , , .358 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, 33 , , 31 , , 25.8 , , .581 , , .424 , , .689 , , 6.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , .4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 0 , , 18.4 , , .497 , , .242 , , .625 , , 4.5 , , .4 , , .3 , , .7 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 8 , , 20.3 , , .381 , , .000 , , .857 , , 3.8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 23 , , 23.6 , , .601 , , .304 , , .706 , , 6.0 , , .3 , , .6 , , .7 , , 10.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 112 , , 62 , , 22.1 , , .551 , , .302 , , .686 , , 5.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 0.7 , , 8.6

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poythress, Alex 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Savannah, Georgia Basketball players from Tennessee BC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Erie BayHawks (2017–2019) players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Indiana Pacers players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Clarksville, Tennessee Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players