Wikipedia

Alex Poythress

Alex Poythress (born September 6, 1993) is an American-born naturalized Ivorian professional basketball player for Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League. 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, during 2011–12. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. Finished his career with 966 points, 597 rebounds and 77 blocks, becoming just the 12th player in program history with at least 900 points, at least 500 rebounds and at least 70 blocks.

Alex Poythress
Poythress in 2023
No. 22 – Zenit Saint Petersburg
PositionCenter / Power forward
LeagueVTB United League
Personal information
Born (1993-09-06) September 6, 1993 (age 31)
Savannah, Georgia
NationalityAmerican / Ivorian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolNortheast (Clarksville, Tennessee)
CollegeKentucky (2012–2016)
NBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2017Philadelphia 76ers
2017–2018Indiana Pacers
2017→ Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2018–2019Atlanta Hawks
2018–2019→ Erie BayHawks
2019–2020Galatasaray
2020–2022Zenit Saint Petersburg
2022–2023Maccabi Tel Aviv
2023–2024Olimpia Milano
2024–presentZenit Saint Petersburg
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Poythress was rated as the number 17 player in the class of 2012 in the ESPNU 100,[1] the number 10 player by Scout.com,[2] and the number 8 player by Rivals.com.[3]

Poythress chose Kentucky over offers from Florida, Tennessee, Memphis, and Vanderbilt, among others.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Alex Poythress
PF 		Clarksville, TN Northeast HS 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nov 10, 2011 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97

College career

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On December 12, 2014, Poythress was ruled out for the rest of the 2014–15 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during practice the previous day.[4][5]

Poythress returned to Kentucky for his senior season,[6] 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 at Kentucky.[7]

Professional career

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Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2016–2017)

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After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Poythress joined the Orlando Magic for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On August 29, 2016, he signed with the Indiana Pacers.[8] He was waived by the Pacers on October 17, 2016, after appearing in two preseason games.[9] On October 31, 2016, he was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Pacers.[10]

Philadelphia 76ers (2017)

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On April 2, 2017, Poythress signed with the Philadelphia 76ers 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.[11] 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.[12] On April 11, 2017, he signed with the 76ers for the remainder of the season.[13]

Indiana Pacers (2017–2018)

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On August 22, 2017, Poythress signed a two-way contract by the Indiana Pacers. 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.[14] 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.[15] On July 6, 2018, he was waived by the Pacers.[16]

Atlanta Hawks (2018–2019)

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On August 20, 2018, Poythress signed a two-way deal with the Atlanta Hawks.[17] Poythress appeared in 21 games for the Hawks (one start), averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.[18] 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.[19]

On August 12, 2019, Poythress signed with Jilin Northeast Tigers of the CBA.[20]

Galatasaray (2019–2020)

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On December 2, 2019, he signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[21] Poythress averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the team.[22]

Zenit Saint Petersburg (2020–2022)

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On July 7, 2020, he signed with Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague.[23] On June 16, 2021, Poythress renewed his contract with the Russian club.[24]

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2022–2023)

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On June 21, 2022, he signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and EuroLeague.[25] In 16 EuroLeague games, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 22 minutes per contest.

Olimpia Milano (2023–2024)

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On July 28, 2023, he signed with Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[26]

Zenit Saint Petersburg (2024–)

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On June 26, 2024, he signed with Zenit Saint Petersburg of the Russian VTB United League (VTB).[27]

International career

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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.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Philadelphia 6 1 26.2 .463 .316 .800 4.8 .8 .5 .3 10.7
2017–18 Indiana 25 0 4.2 .423 .364 – .7 .1 .1 .0 1.0
2018–19 Atlanta 21 1 14.5 .494 .391 .621 3.6 .8 .2 .5 5.1
Career 52 2 10.9 .472 .358 .667 2.3 .5 .2 .3 3.8

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2020–21 Zenit 32 7 18.8 .595 .000 .711 4.3 .5 .6 .7 8.6 8.8
2021–22 23 5 20.2 .628 .000 .766 4.2 .9 .7 .6 7.7 9.8
2022–23 Maccabi Tel Aviv 16 13 22.3 .545 .200 .587 3.6 .8 .5 .6 7.8 7.4
2023–24 Olimpia Milano 30 9 12.8 .598 .200 .793 2.7 .1 .3 .4 5.3 4.7
Career 101 34 17.9 .595 .125 .707 3.7 .5 .5 .5 7.3 7.6

EuroCup

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2019–20 Galatasaray 7 6 27.9 .473 .333 .840 7.1 1.6 .3 .9 13.6 14.3
Career 7 6 27.9 .473 .333 .840 7.1 1.6 .3 .9 13.6 14.3

Domestic leagues

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Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17   Fort Wayne Mad Ants D-League 46 31.1 .528 .403 .783 7.1 1.5 .7 1.4 18.5
2017–18   Fort Wayne Mad Ants G League 7 34.1 .482 .227 .675 8.9 2.7 .9 1.4 20.0
2018–19   Erie BayHawks G League 18 34.8 .516 .296 .698 9.7 2.9 1.2 1.3 23.7
2019–20   Galatasaray TBSL 13 26.8 .508 .174 .629 5.9 1.0 .7 .5 12.3
2020–21   Zenit VTBUL 18 18.7 .670 .000 .696 4.1 .7 1.0 .7 9.2
2021–22   Zenit VTBUL 21 25.7 .724 .000 .726 5.7 1.8 1.0 .7 12.1
2022–23   Maccabi Tel Aviv Ligat HaAl 14 20.4 .708 .000 .657 5.2 1.4 .6 .6 10.6
2023–24   Olimpia Milano LBA 18 15.3 .534 .000 .673 3.3 .3 .6 .3 7.3

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Kentucky 33 31 25.8 .581 .424 .689 6.0 .7 .3 .4 11.2
2013–14 Kentucky 40 0 18.4 .497 .242 .625 4.5 .4 .3 .7 5.9
2014–15 Kentucky 8 8 20.3 .381 .000 .857 3.8 .3 .5 1.5 5.5
2015–16 Kentucky 31 23 23.6 .601 .304 .706 6.0 .3 .6 .7 10.2
Career 112 62 22.1 .551 .302 .686 5.3 .5 .4 0.7 8.6

References

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  1. ^ "2012 College Basketball Recruiting Rankings – ESPNU 100". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  2. ^ "Scout.com College Basketball Team Recruiting Prospects". Scouthoops.scout.com. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  3. ^ "The Rivals150 2012 Prospect Rankings". Rivalshoops.rivals.com. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  4. ^ "Kentucky forward Alex Poythress tears ACL, out for season". SI.com. December 12, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Calipari, John (December 12, 2014). "Heartbroken for Alex". CoachCal.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Story, Mark (October 19, 2015). "Mark Story: If you are old school, you should root hard for Alex Poythress this winter". Kentucky.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Sign Daniel Hamilton and Alex Poythress". Atlanta Hawks.
  8. ^ "Pacers Sign Alex Poythress and Julyan Stone". NBA.com. August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  9. ^ "Pacers Waive Alex Poythress and Nick Zeisloft". NBA.com. October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  10. ^ Needham, Vinessa (October 31, 2016). "Mad Ants Finalize Training Camp Roster Following 2016 Draft". NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  11. ^ "Sixers Sign Alex Poythress". NBA.com. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  12. ^ "Raptors register ninth straight home win over 76ers, 113–105". ESPN.com. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "Sixers Sign Poythress". NBA.com. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  14. ^ "Pacers Sign Alex Poythress". Indiana Pacers. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  15. ^ "Pacers Sign Alex Poythress". NBA.com. December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  16. ^ "Pacers Waive Alex Poythress". hoopsrumors.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Sign Daniel Hamilton and Alex Poythress". NBA.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  18. ^ "Alex Poythress Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  19. ^ "Alex Poythress G-LeagueStats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  20. ^ Ennio, Terrasi Borghesan (August 12, 2019). "Jilin inks Alex Poythress". Sportando. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  21. ^ "Galatasaray signs Alex Poythress, parts ways with Ben Moore". Sportando. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  22. ^ Varney, Dennis (March 26, 2020). "Catch up with 36 ex-Cats playing pro basketball in leagues outside the NBA". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Zenit tabs Alex Poythress, ex Galatasaray". Eurobasket.com. July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Alex Poythress re-signs with Zenit". Sportando. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "Maccabi signed Alex Poythress". Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  26. ^ "Milano, Alex Poythress agree to 1-year deal". Sportando. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  27. ^ "Alex Poythress officially returns to Zenit". Eurohoops. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  28. ^ "Poythress gets Ivory Coast passport, set to join his new team for FIBA window". Basket News. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
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