Tibor Pleiß (, alternative spelling Pleiss; born 2 November 1989) is a German 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 Panathinaikos of the

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

(GBL) 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 , he plays at the center position. He is also a regular member of the German national team.

Early life, family and education

Pleiß was born in

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and abo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, near

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Professional athletic career

Europe

Pleiß played for RheinEnergie Köln (a year later they changed their name to Köln 99ers) of the German Bundesliga as a 17-year-old in 2006. He played with the club for three years, playing in the 2008 EuroCup. After the season ended, he joined the

Brose Baskets Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...

where he played for three years. On 24 June 2012, Pleiß left Germany and signed a four-year contract with the Spanish club

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D commonly known as Saski Baskonia () and also simply as Baskonia, is a professional basketball team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLea ...

, one of the top teams of the

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

. In the 2013–14 season, he averaged 12.4 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 6.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game. He left Baskonia after two years. On 11 August 2014, he signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club

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

. In the 2014–15 ACB season, he averaged 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the floor. In July 2015, he broke the contract with Barcelona, in order to sign in the NBA.

NBA

Pleiß declared for the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

. He was drafted by the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, who traded his rights to 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. The Hawks then sold his rights 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 February 2015, his draft rights were traded to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

as part of a three-team trade. On 14 July 2015, Pleiß signed a multi-year deal with the Utah Jazz. He made his NBA debut on 30 October in a 99–71 win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

, recording two points and one rebound in two minutes. On 2 January 2016, in a 92–87 overtime 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 ...

, Pleiß set career-highs with six points, six rebounds and 17 minutes. During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

, Utah's D-League affiliate. On 26 August 2016, Pleiß was traded, along with two 2017 second-round draft picks and cash considerations, to the

in exchange for Kendall Marshall. Five days later, he was waived by the 76ers.

Return to Europe

On 12 September 2016, Pleiß signed with Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2016–17 season. On 28 July 2017 Pleiß signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, 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 EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup, and his Valencia Basket ...

. On 1 August 2018 Pleiß signed a two (1+1) year contract with the Turkish club Anadolu Efes S.K. On 12 July 2020 Pleiß renewed his contract with Efes for another three (2+1) seasons. On June 17, 2024, Pleiß parted ways with the team after six successful years. On August 8, 2024, he signed with Trapani Shark of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

. On February 26, 2025, Pleiß signed with the defending

champions Panathinaikos, reuniting with his Anadolu Efes coach

Ergin Ataman Halil Ergin Ataman (born January 7, 1966) is a Turkish professional basketball coach, currently managing Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He is also the head coach of the Turkish national team. During ...

German national team

Pleiß was a member of the junior national teams of Germany. He played for the German junior national teams at the 2007

FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The FIBA U18 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the FIBA European Championship for Juniors. It is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held bi ...

and at both the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B and the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. Pleiß is a member of the senior men's

German national basketball team The Germany men's national basketball team ( or ''Die Mannschaft'') represents Germany in international basketball competition. The team is directed by the German Basketball Federation (''Deutscher Basketball Bund''), the governing body for b ...

. He first played for the senior team at

EuroBasket 2009 The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...

and saw action in three games. He was also in the German team that participated in the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

in Turkey, where he was the starting center for Germany. He also played at the EuroBasket 2011 and the

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France men's national basketball ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .440 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .440 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.0

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

, 10 , , 10 , , 19.1 , , .413 , , .444 , , .789 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 1.5 , , 6.7 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 10 , , 4 , , 18.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .682 , , 5.4 , , .4 , , .0 , , .8 , , 6.5 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Baskonia , 25 , , 4 , , 14.2 , , .607 , , .333 , , .846 , , 3.9 , , .2 , , .2 , , .6 , , 5.0 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 24 , , 21 , , 21.0 , , .557 , , .333 , , .863 , , 5.4 , , .5 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 12.0 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, 25 , , 1 , , 13.1 , , .584 , , .500 , , .848 , , 3.9 , , .2 , , .2 , , .6 , , 5.3 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Galatasaray , 28 , , 20 , , 17.1 , , .567 , , .400 , , .765 , , 4.6 , , .5 , , .2 , , 1.2 , , 7.7 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, 29 , , 14 , , 19.3 , , .565 , , .500 , , .797 , , 5.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 10.1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6",

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 EuroLeagu ...

, style="background:#CFECEC;", 37* , , 5 , , 14.2 , , .623 , , .333 , , .878 , , 3.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , .5 , , 8.1 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="background:#CFECEC;", 28* , , 22 , , 18.8 , , .613 , , .250 , , .926 , , 4.3 , , .4 , , .5 , , .5 , , 9.5 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2020–21† , 24 , , 9 , , 12.0 , , .574 , , .412 , , .889 , , 2.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 6.8 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2021–22† , style="background:#CFECEC;", 40* , , 26 , , 18.1 , , .569 , , .442 , , .891 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , .5 , , 9.6 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , 33 , , 19 , , 15.1 , , .535 , , .326 , , .913 , , 2.9 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 6.7 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 23 , , 19 , , 18.0 , , .486 , , .435 , , .889 , , 3.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .6 , , 7.8 , , 8.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 336 , , 174 , , 16.6 , , .564 , , .391 , , .842 , , 4.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .7 , , 8.0 , , 9.5

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

Köln 99ers Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , , , .000 , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.0 , , -1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 10 , , 17.7 , , .521 , , , , .758 , , 5.7 , , .2 , , .3 , , .8 , , 8.3 , , 9.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 10 , , 15.6 , , .514 , , .000 , , .758 , , 4.9 , , .1 , , .3 , , .7 , , 7.1 , , 8.1

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 6 , , 3.3 , , .444 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , , , , , .2 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 6 , , 6.6 , , .200 , , .000 , , .625 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .2 , , , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 27 , , 12.0 , , .482 , , .250 , , .650 , , 2.8 , , .2 , , .3 , , .8 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 45 , , 19.3 , , .564 , , .444 , , .708 , , 5.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.3 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 47 , , 20.1 , , .523 , , .389 , , .764 , , 6.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.6 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 44 , , 20.0 , , .593 , , .429 , , .826 , , 6.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 1.4 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 34 , , 16.3 , , .584 , , .333 , , .725 , , 4.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 34 , , 22.4 , , .596 , , , , .811 , , 6.5 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 43 , , 13.9 , , .644 , , .500 , , .864 , , 3.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .5 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", D-League , , 28 , , 31.5 , , .583 , , .316 , , .877 , , 10.4 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 1.4 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , , style="text-align:left;", Galatasaray , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 25 , , 22.0 , , .644 , , .500 , , .797 , , 6.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.2 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 24 , , 18.9 , , .555 , , .385 , , .731 , , 6.2 , , .6 , , .3 , , .8 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 6 , , 25.4 , , .571 , , .400 , , .889 , , 7.8 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , .5 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 15 , , 22.3 , , .620 , , .429 , , .857 , , 6.6 , , .6 , , .6 , , .5 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 13 , , 21.9 , , .658 , , .400 , , .935 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .4 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 25 , , 25.3 , , .579 , , .388 , , .857 , , 5.5 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .7 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 16 , , 24.2 , , .486 , , .296 , , .857 , , 6.2 , , .7 , , .6 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 2 , , 23.0 , , .500 , , .556 , , 1.000 , , 5.5 , , , , .5 , , .5 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , , style="text-align:left;", Trapani Shark , , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 17 , , 14.2 , , .534 , , .238 , , .826 , , 3.4 , , .5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.0

References

External links

Tibor Pleiß
at acb.com
Tibor Pleiß
at euroleaguebasketball.net
Tibor Pleiß
at fiba.basketball * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleiss, Tibor 1989 births Living people 2010 FIBA World Championship players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Bamberg Baskets players Centers (basketball) FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players German expatriate basketball people in Greece German expatriate basketball people in Italy German expatriate basketball people in Spain German expatriate basketball people in Turkey German expatriate basketball people in the United States German men's basketball players Idaho Stampede players Köln 99ers players Liga ACB players NBA players from Germany New Jersey Nets draft picks Panathinaikos B.C. players Sportspeople from Bergisch Gladbach Saski Baskonia players Utah Jazz players Valencia Basket players 21st-century German sportsmen