Aleksandar Vezenkov ( bg, Александър Везенков; gr, Αλέξανδρος Βεζένκοφ; born 6 August 1995), also known as Sasha Vezenkov ( bg, Саша Везенков; gr, Σάσα Βεζένκοφ), is a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

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 is a 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

who can also play as a

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 ...

. Vezenkov was born in Cyprus, but due to his Bulgarian descent, he represents the Bulgarian national team.Учен от Харвард превръща Александър Везенков в супериграч .
/ref> He holds triple citizenship for Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece.Nationality: Bulgaria/Cyprus/Greece.
/ref>

Early career

He was born in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

to Bulgarian parents and was raised in Cyprus and Greece.Αλ. Βεζένκοφ: «Νιώθω σαν να είμαι Ελληνας» .
/ref>
/ref> Vezenkov, who was always considered to be one of the best youth players in Europe in his age group, began playing youth

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

basketball in Cyprus in 2005 with

APOEL Nicosia APOEL ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a major mult ...

's youth teams. In 2009, he moved to Greece and began playing youth club basketball with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

' youth teams, until 2011, when he joined Aris' senior men's club. He trained for several years at

Nick Galis Hall Alexandreio Melathron Nick Galis Hall (Greek: Αλεξάνδρειο Μέλαθρον, Σάλα Νίκος Γκάλης) is an indoor sports arena that is located in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is also often referred to as the Palais des Sports (Gre ...

, located near the center of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece. On 16 May 2013, Vezenkov committed to play American

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 ...

in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

, at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

, with the

Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 16 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Musk ...

. However, he ultimately decided to stay in Greece with his club team Aris instead.Ο Αλέξανδρος Βεζένκοβ στον ΑΡΗ για τα επόμενα τρία χρόνια .

Professional career

Vezenkov began his pro career with the senior men's team of

, in the Greek League, in 2011, appearing in 10 games, with an average of 2.5 minutes on the floor. In the 2012–13 season, he appeared in 21 games, averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He was named the Greek League Best Young Player in 2013. In August 2013, he re-signed with Aris for 3 years. In the next season, he established himself in the team, appeared in 26 games and averaged 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. He was named the Greek League Best Young Player again in 2014. In the local derby against rivals PAOK, during the 2014–15 season, Vezenkov achieved Greek League career-highs in scoring and rebounding, with 29 points and 14 rebounds respectively. In total, he played in 37 games during the 2014–15 Greek Basket League season, averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. During 26 regular season games, Vezenkov led the league in total points scored, with 469, and was second in total rebounds grabbed, with 201. He was also named the league's MVP, Most Improved Player, and Best Young Player that season. Vezenkov had originally planned to enter the 2015 NBA draft, but later withdrew his name from it before the deadline that was set for international players back in June. On 31 July 2015, Vezenkov signed a four-year deal (with the 4th year being optional) worth €2 million net income, with the

Spanish ACB League 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 ...

club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. FC Barcelona also paid a €315,000 buyout fee to Vezenkov's former club, Aris.Vezenkov, una joya búlgara para el Barça .
/ref> Vezenkov's contract with FC Barcelona also included a buyout option for 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 ...

, set at the amount of €1 million euros. The Spanish League club

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

, and the Greek League club

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 ...

, also were interested in signing Vezenkov to a contract at the time. Vezenkov would then put his name in the 2016 NBA draft, after his first season with Barcelona ended. However, he wound up removing his name from the draft on the 13 June 2016, deadline for international players. With Barcelona, Vezenkov won the

Spanish Supercup Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

title in 2015, and was named to the all Spanish League All-Young Players Team of the 2016–17 season. On 29 June 2018, Barcelona part ways with him. On 12 July 2018, Vezenkov signed a two-year deal with

of the EuroLeague. On 10 July 2020, he signed a two-year extension with the team. He recorded his EuroLeague career-high on 18 March 2021, scoring 31 points in an 80-84 win at

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

. In the 2021-22 season, Vezenkov established himself as a regular starter at Olympiacos. On 20 February 2022, he recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds in the Greek Cup Final against arch-rivals Panathinaikos, helping the club win its first title after 6 years. He was also named Euroleague February MVP, playing an important role in Olympiacos finishing 2nd in the Euroleague Regular Season with a 19-9 record, the club's best ever finish. On 27 April 2022, he scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the 83-87 road win, in Game 3 of the playoff series against

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, helping his team regain homecourt advantage and eventually qualify to the

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...

, for the first time after 2017. He finished the EuroLeague season averaging 13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and a Performance Index Rating of 17.8. His performance earned him a spot in the All-Euroleague First Team. On 17 June 2022, in Game 3 of the Greek League Finals against Panathinaikos, he recorded 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, with Olympiacos completing the domestic Double, having swept their rivals.

NBA draft rights

On 22 June 2017, Vezenkov was selected with the 57th overall pick in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

by the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. On 14 January 2021, the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

acquired his draft rights from the Nets, in a multi-team trade involving

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA ...

. On June 23, 2022, his rights were traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

National team career

Junior national team

Vezenkov was a member of the Bulgarian junior national teams. With Bulgaria's junior national teams, he played at the following tournaments: the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-20 Division B Championship, and the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He led the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in scoring, with an average of 27.1 points per game. He led the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in scoring, with an average of 22.4 points per game. He also led the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game, and rebounds, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game. He was also named to the tournament's All-Tournament Team.

Senior national team

Vezenkov also represented the senior men's Bulgarian national team in the second qualification tournament for FIBA EuroBasket 2015, averaging 17.3 points per game, and also being the highest scoring player for the team, in 5 of their 6 games, as well as the team's overall top scorer. He also played at the

EuroBasket 2017 qualification This article describes the qualification procedure for EuroBasket 2017. Qualification format All teams which didn't qualify yet for EuroBasket 2017 were divided into six groups of four teams and one more of three. The winners of each group and the ...

as well as the team's successful qualification 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 ...

and the actual tournament, during which he was the leading scorer for Bulgaria.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

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Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, 22 , , 1 , , 8.9 , , .457 , , .444 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.7 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 30 , , 6 , , 18.4 , , .577 , , .479 , , .848 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.5 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 13 , , 1 , , 11.4 , , .429 , , .222 , , .923 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.5 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4",

, 28, , 3 , , 10.2 , , .488 , , .207 , , .810 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.8 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 26 , , 3 , , 13.4 , , .540 , , .459 , , .808 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.1 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

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Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

Olympiacos * Greek League Champion: (2022) *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

Winner: (2022) *

Greek Basketball Super Cup The Greek Basketball Super Cup or Greek Basket League Super Cup is the top-tier level professional basketball national super cup competition in Greece. The first edition of the tournament, was organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E ...

Winner: (2022) Barcelona *

Winner: (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

)

Individual

* 2× Best Young Basketball Player of Bulgaria – 2013–14, 2014–15 * Second place in the Viasport.bg "Best Young Sportsperson of Bulgaria" rankings – 2014 * 3× Greek League Best Young Player: (2013, 2014, 2015) * Spanish League All-Young Players Team: (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) * Greek All-Star Game MVP (2022) * 2× Greek League Most Improved Player: (2015, 2022) * Greek League Most Popular Player: (2022) * Greek League Rebounding Leader: (2015) * 2× Greek League Best Five: (2015, 2022) * 2× Greek League Top Scorer: (2015, 2022) * 2× Greek League MVP: (2015, 2022) * 8×

EuroLeague MVP of the Round The EuroLeague MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Round, previously known as the EuroLeague MVP of the Week, is an award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the best player of each round of the season. Eac ...

* 2×

EuroLeague MVP of the Month The EuroLeague MVP of the Month is the award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, for the most valuable player of each month of the season. The award began in the 2004–05 season, after the EuroLeague eliminated the Eur ...

: (February 2022, November 2022) *

All-EuroLeague First 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 ...

(

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

)

Personal life

Vezenkov is the son of Yanka Vezenkova (née Gerginova) and Sashko "Sasho" Vezenkov, who has served as both

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and director of sports of

Lukoil Academic BC Academic Metropol Region ( bg, БК "Академик" Метропол-Рийджън) is a reestablished Bulgarian professional basketball club based in the capital Sofia. In April 2022, Academic has been reborn and rebranded by the new ow ...

. Sasho is also a former international basketball player, who played at

EuroBasket 1985 The 1985 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1985, was the 24th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 5 to 16 June 1985 in West Germany. The Soviet Union defeated Czec ...

EuroBasket 1989 The 1989 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1989, was the 26th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Yugoslavia between 20 and 25 June 1989. Eight national teams entered th ...

, and

EuroBasket 1991 The 1991 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1991, was the 27th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Italy between 24 and 29 June 1991. Eight national teams entered the even ...

. Sasho was also the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the senior men's Bulgarian national basketball team.בולגריה מתגעגעת לפיני גרשון.
Sasho moved to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, and he played and coached basketball there in the Cypriot Basketball League for many years. Vezenkov's older sister, Michaela Vezenkova, played

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...

, and also played professionally in the Cypriot women's league. Vezenkova decided to represent Cyprus, rather than

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and she eventually became the captain of the Cypriot women's national basketball team. While living in Greece as a youth, Vezenkov attended Greek schools. Vezenkov is fluent in both the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

languages, with Greek being his native tongue, and Bulgarian being his second language. Vezenkov officially received Greek citizenship on 30 December 2015, under the official name of Alexander "Alex" Vezenkof (

: Αλεξάντερ "Αλέξ" Βεζένκοφ), with his common Greek name being Sasha Vezenkof (

: Σάσα Βεζένκοφ). Before acquiring Greek citizenship, Vezenkov had previously stated that he felt like a member of Greek society, since he was born and raised in Greek communities in both Cyprus and Greece.Βεζένκοφ: "Αγαπώ την Ελλάδα και τον Άρη".

Early career

Professional career

NBA draft rights

National team career

Junior national team

Senior national team

Career statistics

EuroLeague

Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

Individual

Personal life

References

External links