Lester "Bo" McCalebb ( mk, Лестер „Бо“ МекКејлеб; born May 4, 1985) is an American-Macedonian former 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. He represented the senior Macedonian national team internationally. Standing at , he played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position. Born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, he attended the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

. A two-time

All-EuroLeague The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection, McCalebb was part of the All-Tournament Team at

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

High school

McCalebb attended

O. Perry Walker High School O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, where he played high school basketball.

College career

McCalebb played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

. McCalebb was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2007. In his five-year career with the

Privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

, he played in 128 games, averaging 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.

Professional career

Mersin BB

McCalebb started his professional career in Turkey with Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi. He had a lot of success in

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

, averaging 17.4 points and 4.7 assists per game during the 2008–09 season. He was also the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

leader in steals, with 2.7 per game.

Partizan

On October 16, 2009, McCalebb signed a one-year contract with the Serbian club

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

, a week after the team released former point guard

Milt Palacio Milton Sigmund Palacio (born February 7, 1978) is a Belizean American professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Palacio, a Belizean citizen, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by Belizean parents. College career P ...

for failure to join the team on time. He had an amazing season with Partizan winning the regional ABA League,

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

and

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

titles. He also helped the team to reach the EuroLeague Final Four, and earned an

All-EuroLeague Second Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection.

Montepaschi Siena

In July 2010, McCalebb signed a three-year deal with the Italian club

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, ...

. In his first season in Italy, he had even more success, helping his team to the EuroLeague Final Four, and winning the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

, and Supercup. In 2012, he was named the Italian League MVP. In April 2012, McCalebb won the EuroLeague's

Alphonso Ford Trophy The Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy, also known as the EuroLeague Best Scorer, is an annual basketball award of Europe's premier level league, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. It is given to the Top Scorer throughout the EuroLeague sea ...

, the annual award given to the EuroLeague's top scorer of the season. He averaged 16.9 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game, during the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, while shooting .613 from the field and .526 on three-pointers. He also earned a selection to the

, for the second time in his career.

Fenerbahçe Ülker

During the summer of 2012,

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

were interested in signing McCalebb, but they did not reach a buyout agreement with

. In August 2012, McCalebb signed a three-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe Ülker. In June 2014, he left Fenerbahçe and became a free agent.

Bayern Munich

On November 19, 2014, McCalebb signed a one-month deal with the German club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. Over 5 regular season EuroLeague games he played for the team, he averaged 9.8 points, and a career-high 3.6 assists per game. On December 26, 2014, he extended his contract with the club until the end of January 2015. On January 10, 2015, he tore ligaments in one of his thumbs, which sidelined him off the court for several weeks. After the injury, he never played with Bayern again.

Pelicans / Limoges

On October 15, 2015, McCalebb signed with the

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

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. However, he was later waived by the Pelicans on October 24, after appearing in four preseason games. On January 3, 2016, McCalebb signed with French club

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, for the rest of the season.

Gran Canaria

On August 24, 2016, McCalebb signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the EuroCup.

Zaragoza

On December 13, 2017, McCalebb signed with Spanish club Tecnyconta Zaragoza for the rest of the

2017–18 ACB season The 2017–18 ACB season, also known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season of the Spanish basketball league. It started on 29 September 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 19 June 2018 with the finals ...

National team career

In 2010, McCalebb accepted an offer to play for the senior men's

Macedonian national basketball team The North Macedonia men's national basketball team ( mk, Кошаркарска репрезентација на Северна Македонија, Košarkarska reprezentacija na Severna Makedonija) represents North Macedonia in internationa ...

, after which he received a Macedonian passport. The "Macedonian MVP" was the second leading scorer in the qualifying for the EuroBasket 2011, with a strong showing against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and its NBA star

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his ...

EuroBasket 2011

On August 31, in the first tournament game for Macedonia, McCalebb scored 17 points in an overtime loss against

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. On September 1, Macedonia played

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

with McCalebb scoring 19 points. He had another strong showing versus

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

on September 3, scoring game-high 27 points and leading the team to a 72–58 win. On September 4, McCalebb scored 18 points against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in a 72–70 win. On September 5, McCalebb scored 22 points in a 75–63 win over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, which qualified them to the second phase as the first place team in

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

. Then, on September 8 ( Macedonia Independence Day), he led the team with 27 points in their 65–63 win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and thus placed Macedonia to the quarter-finals. In the last two games of the second phase, McCalebb scored 19 points in Macedonian victory against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, and 16 points in the dramatic loss against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. On September 14, Macedonia defeated the host nation

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

to qualify to the semi-finals. McCalebb scored 23 points. In the semi-finals Macedonia was defeated 92–80 by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with McCalebb scoring 25 points. In the bronze medal battle, McCalebb scored 22 points, but Macedonia was defeated by

, in another dramatic game, 72–68. McCalebb earned an All Tournament Team selection. During the tournament, he averaged 21.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, in 34.2 minutes played per game. With 235 total points scored, McCalebb was the best scorer of the tournament in total points, but in points per game average, he was second behind

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

, who played in one game less.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=5,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 31 , , 15 , , 26.1 , , .441 , , .311 , , .606 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 30 , , 30 , , 34.9 , , .480 , , .260 , , .567 , , 4.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , 22.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 4 , , 4 , , 33.3 , , .379 , , .300 , , .657 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 3.8 , , .5 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 31 , , 31 , , 34.5 , , .478 , , .333 , , .710 , , 6.8 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 25.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 32 , , 32 , , 33.3 , , .506 , , .405 , , .772 , , 4.5 , , 3.1 , , 2.4 , , .1 , , 23.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 128 , , 112 , , 32.2 , , .476 , , .333 , , .667 , , 4.7 , , 3.0 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , 20.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

, 22 , , 22 , , 30.1 , , .457 , , .232 , , .759 , , 2.9 , , 3.4 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.0 , , .0 , , 13.4 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Montepaschi , 15 , , 9 , , 20.8 , , .549 , , .438 , , .880 , , 2.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , 11.5 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 17 , , 17 , , 27.7 , , .613 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .526 , , .809 , , 2.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 16.9 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Fenerbahçe , 23 , , 20 , , 27.6 , , .481 , , .255 , , .847 , , 2.7 , , 2.4 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 1.9 , , .0 , , 13.0 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 24 , , 15 , , 27.0 , , .595 , , .359 , , .741 , , 3.2 , , 2.5 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 11.9 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

Bayern Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, 5 , , 5 , , 23.4 , , .345 , , .357 , , .833 , , 2.4 , , 3.6 , , .6 , , .0 , , 9.8 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 106 , , 88 , , 26.8 , , .521 , , .336 , , .798 , , 2.7 , , 2.7 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 13.1 , , 13.5

High school

College career

Professional career

Mersin BB

Partizan

Montepaschi Siena

Fenerbahçe Ülker

Bayern Munich

Pelicans / Limoges

Gran Canaria

Zaragoza

National team career

EuroBasket 2011

Career statistics

College

EuroLeague

Other leagues

See also

References

External links