Mateusz Ponitka (born August 29, 1993) is a Polish 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

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior

Polish national basketball team The Poland men's national basketball team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w koszykówce) represents Poland in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz). Poland has competed at the EuroB ...

in international competitions. Standing at a height of , he plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position. His brother Marcel Ponitka is also a professional basketball player who capped for the Polish national team.Polska pokonała Kosowo w el. MŚ. Marcel Ponitka zaliczył udany debiut w kadrze koszykarzy
''Trojmiasto.pl'', 23 February 2018. Accessed 25 February 2021.

Professional career

Early years

Ponitka started playing basketball in UKS Kasprowiczanka Ostrow Wielkopolski, before moving in 2009 to AZS Warsaw University of Technology. In his first season as a professional player, he appeared in 27 games of the Polish 2nd-tier League, averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 18 minutes per game. He also appeared in four games of the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

, averaging 9 points per game. In September 2010, Ponitka took part in 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 ...

'' camp, held in Barcelona. He was named the MVP of the camp. In the 2010–11 season, he had bigger role in the team, which reflected on his stats. In April 2011, he took part in

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

held in Portland, Oregon. He was the leading scorer of the World Select Team with 17 points in a 92–80 loss to the USA Team. Over the season, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals over 34 games. His team eventually won the championship, this way promoting to the Polish League in the following season. In the 2011–12 season, due to his good performances, he was voted for the Polish League All-Star game with the most votes. In the game, he was the third scorer in his team with 13 points. In his final season with AZS Warsaw University of Technology, he averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Asseco Prokom

On March 27, 2012, Ponitka signed a three-year deal with the Polish team Asseco Prokom. He also had an option to leave the team after two seasons. In the new team, his minutes were very limited, and the player had the averages of 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds for the rest of the season. However, his team won the Polish League championship, by defeating

Trefl Sopot Trefl Sopot is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Sopot, Poland. The team plays in the Dominet Bank Ekstraliga, Polish Tauron Basket Liga. The club was founded as the replacement of Asseco Gdynia, Prokom Asseco Sopot that left the ci ...

with 78-67 in the final series. In the 2012–13 season, his role in the team increased, as he averaged 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game over the season. He also played in the EuroLeague, averaging 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds over 10 games.

Telenet Oostende

On August 4, 2013, he signed a three-year contract with the Belgian team

Telenet Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in the Baske ...

. In the 2013–14 season, his team won the

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 Belgian First Division A, 2020 ...

championship. He went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2015 NBA draft.

Zielona Góra

On August 4, 2015, he signed a contract with the Polish team Stelmet Zielona Góra. Ponitka was named the EuroCup Rising Star of the 2015–16 season.

Pınar Karşıyaka

On August 8, 2016, he signed a two-year deal with Turkish club

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Pınar" means "Spring" (of water), and/or "Fountain". Notable people called Pınar include: Given name * Pinar Heggernes (born 1969), Turkish-born Norwegian computer scientist * Pına ...

Lokomotiv Kuban

On July 13, 2018, he signed with Russian club

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban (russian: ПБК «Локомотив Кубань») is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. The club participates in the VTB United League. The team is one of the top tier basketball teams in Russia. T ...

Zenit

On July 4, 2019, Ponitka signed a two-year contract with

BC Zenit Saint Petersburg BC Zenit Saint Petersburg (russian: БК Зенит Санкт Петербург), formerly known as BC Dynamo Moscow Region (2003–2007) and BC Triumph Lyubertsy (2007–2014), is a Russian professional basketball team that is located in Sain ...

Pallacanestro Reggiana

On August 17, 2022, he signed a three-month deal with an option until the end of the season with

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA).

Panathinaikos

On September 23, 2022, Ponitka signed a one-year deal with

of the

and the EuroLeague.

National team career

Ponitka was part of the Poland U-17 national basketball team which took the silver medal at the

2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (German: FIBA U17-Weltmeisterschaft 2010) was the inaugural edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 national tea ...

held in Germany. In the final game he scored 14 points against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, but his team lost by huge margin, 111–80. He played against athletes like

Bradley Beal Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. (born June 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before being selected by ...

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist ( Gilchrist; born September 26, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted second ove ...

James Michael McAdoo James Michael Ray McAdoo (born January 4, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Sun Rockers Shibuya of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and twice earned second-team all-c ...

Andre Drummond Andre Jamal Drummond (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the ...

Quinn Cook Quinn Alexander Cook (born March 23, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was one of the top rated baske ...

Marquis Teague Marquis Devante Teague (born February 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League. He was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the class of 2011. High school career In ...

and others. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. In 2011, he was part of the U-18 team which took sixth place at the

2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 28th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Poland from July 21–31. Lithuania were the defending champion. Spain won their third title. Tea ...

held in Poland. Over 9 tournament games, he averaged 15.3 points and 7.6 assists per game. He officially debuted for the senior national team on August 3, 2012 in the friendly game against

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. Even he played for nearly 23 minutes, he scored just 4 points. He was a member of the team at the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket held in Slovenia. He averaged 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds over 5 tournament games. He represented the Polish national team at the 2015 FIBA EuroBasket and 2017 FIBA EuroBasket. He also participated in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, where he scored 26 points against China. Down 1, Ponitka came up with a key steal on Chinese star

Zhou Qi Zhou Qi ( ; born 16 January 1996) is a Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He has been a regular member of the China men's national basketball tea ...

with 3 seconds left, being fouled in the process and sending the game into overtime, where Poland would later triumph in an upset 79-76 overtime win over the hosts. Ponitka played at

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, where he averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Poland did not advance past the preliminary round. Ponitka returned at

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 ...

for Poland. In the quarter-finals against heavily favoured

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 ...

, he guided Poland to a 90–87 upset win to reach the first semifinals in 51 years. Ponitka finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to become the fourth player in EuroBasket history to record a

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 ...

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Asseco Prokom , 10 , , 4 , , 22.2 , , .486 , , .323 , , .381 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 8.8 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road ...

, 10 , , 10 , , 31.5 , , .505 , , .250 , , .676 , , 7.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 12.0 , , 17.9 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 align=center , Career , 20 , , 14 , , 26.8 , , .497 , , .294 , , .564 , , 5.7 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 10.4 , , 12.8