Mathias Michel Lessort (born 29 September 1995) is a French professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He stands 206 cm (6âÂÂ9âÂÂâÂÂ) tall and plays at the center position. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2023 and 2024, Lessort won the EuroLeague title in 2024 with Panathinaikos.
Born in the French overseas department of Martinique and raised in Le Morne-Vert until the age of 15, Lessort joined the youth ranks of ÃÂlan Chalon in 2010 and won the French national championship with ChalonâÂÂs cadet team in 2012 and 2013 and with their development team ("Espoirs") in 2013. He also helped Chalon win the 2013 Trophée du Futur.
Lessort is married to Traicy, and together they have two children.
Lessort was handed his first professional contract by the club in June 2014 and made his debut in the French top-flight Pro A during the 2014âÂÂ15 season. Before turning professional, he had considered enrolling at a university in the United States and had been in touch with Gonzaga and North Carolina State.
He saw action in 23 games as a rookie, chipping in with 2.0 points a game, while pulling down 2.0 rebounds per contest. In 2015âÂÂ16, he logged his first minutes in a European club competition, the FIBA Europe Cup.
In April 2016, he declared for the NBA draft, but later withdrew. On 1 June 2016 he joined JSF Nanterre of the French Pro A on a three-year deal. In April 2017, Lessort won both the French Basketball Cup and the FIBA Europe Cup championships with Nanterre.
On 11 August 2017 Lessort signed a three-year deal with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda. He played there only in the 2017âÂÂ18 season, before signing with Spanish ACB side Unicaja in July 2018.
Lessort spent the 2019âÂÂ20 season in Germany with Bayern Munich.
On 18 September 2020, Lessort signed with AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A.
On 25 September 2021, Lessort signed a 2-month contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League in order to replace the injured Ante à ½ià ¾iÃÂ. In five games, Lessort averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He parted ways with the team on 26 November.
On 20 December 2021, Lessort signed with KK Partizan of the Basketball League of Serbia, the ABA League and the EuroCup.
On 18 July 2022, he signed a new contract with Partizan. Under coach à ½eljko ObradoviÃÂ. He was one of the most useful players in the Euroleague, he was in the first team of the Euroleague, and he was also one of the main candidates for the MVP title. During the 2022âÂÂ23 season, Partizan was eliminated from the Real Madrid in tight playoffs series. Over the season, Lessort averaged 12 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022âÂÂ23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after 3âÂÂ2 score against Crvena zvezda in the Finals series.
In March 2023, Lessort was involved in a physical altercation after an ABA League derby between Partizan and Crvena zvezda, following provocation by Filip Petrusev. In the moments after full-time, Lessort shoved Petrusev and then struck him in the face. He later apologized for his reaction, saying he felt his dignity had been impinged.
He was suspended for three games and fined â¬10,000 for the incident.
On 27 June 2023, Lessort signed a two-year contract with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. On February 29, 2024, in a 97âÂÂ86 win against Real Madrid, Lessort set his EuroLeague career-high of 26 points, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists. On May 26, 2024, Lessort helped Panathinaikos win its seventh EuroLeague title by scoring 17 points and recording 6 rebounds in a 95âÂÂ80 win over Real Madrid in the final.
On December 19, 2024, during a EuroLeague match against Baskonia, Lessort suffered a serious fibula fracture in his left leg. The injury caused panic inside the arena, with several fans fainting and one suffering a heart attack. He underwent successful surgery the following day at Ygeia Hospital, performed by team physician Dr. Athanasios Konidis. Initial estimates suggested an absence of approximately four months.
On December 31, 2024, and whilst being injured, Lessort officially signed the newly offered three-year contract extension with the defending EuroLeague champions through 2028.
Despite the severity of the injury, Lessort began rehabilitation quickly and made a surprising return during the 2025 EuroLeague Finalâ¯Four in Abuâ¯Dhabi, where he logged minutes in the semifinal against Fenerbahçeâ¯Beko. However, he was later omitted from PanathinaikosâÂÂs roster for the domestic league finals against Olympiacos. Team doctor Thanasisâ¯Konidis stated that Lessort had been medically cleared to play, but the coaching staff opted to rest him to allow confidence and rhythm to return gradually rather than due to any renewed medical restriction.
On 29â¯Septemberâ¯2025, Panathinaikos head coach Erginâ¯Ataman provided an update on LessortâÂÂs recovery from his serious fibula fracture. Ataman confirmed that while Lessort was progressing, he was not yet ready to return to full team activities. The club intended to act cautiously, and Lessort was expected to be available for selection in November. Ataman stressed that LessortâÂÂs participation in the EuroLeague Finalâ¯Four was not a misjudgment, noting that the player had completed one month of intensive individual and partial team training prior to the tournament. âÂÂHeâÂÂll return in November, about 1âÂÂ1.5â¯months from now,â Ataman said.
However, on 7â¯Novemberâ¯2025, the club issued a further statement indicating that LessortâÂÂs recovery plan remained unclear. During his reintegration phase he experienced discomfort in his left ankle, and new imaging revealed bone oedema, prompting a reassessment of his treatment strategy. The statement noted that a decision was yet to be made regarding whether he would continue with conservative treatment or undergo surgery. As a result, no definitive timetable for his return to full team participation was given.
On 17 November 2025, Panathinaikos and head coach Erginâ¯Ataman provided an update on LessortâÂÂs recovery. They confirmed that he had been experiencing persistent discomfort in his left ankle and that new imaging revealed bone oedema. The club stated that a final decision on whether to continue with conservative treatment or proceed with surgery was still pending, and no definitive timetable for his return to full team participation was given.
He eventually returned to action on March 12th in a home game against Zalgiris Kaunas, recording 9 points and 3 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
Lessort was drafted in the second round as the 50th pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In July 2019, his draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team trade. On 19 November 2020 his draft rights were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lessort's draft rights were traded again, to the New York Knicks, on 20 November.
On February 6, 2025, Lessort's draft rights were included in a four-team trade and ultimately acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lessort played in the 2013 Nike Global Challenge, averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game, while receiving International All-Tournament Team honors.
He represented France at the 2014 and 2015 U20 European Championships. In 2015, he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds en route to a semifinal appearance.
As a member of the French men's national team, he captured a bronze medal at the 2019 World Cup and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In 2025, Lessort was included in FranceâÂÂs preliminary roster for EuroBasket 2025, but withdrew from the extended squad having still not fully recovered from a fibula fracture he sustained in December 2024. He was replaced by Yoan Makoundou in the 18-man training camp roster.
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017âÂÂ18 | style="text-align:left;"| Crvena zvezda | 30 || 29 || 21.1 || .549 || .000 || .632 || 5.7 || .8 || .8 || .7 || 8.5 || 10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019âÂÂ20 | style="text-align:left;"| Bayern Munich | 22 || 4 || 11.3 || .528 || || .600 || 2.2 || .5 || .5 || .5 || 3.8 || 4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021âÂÂ22 | style="text-align:left;"| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 5 || 3 || 11.7 || .737 || || .562 || 3.4 || .6 || 1.0 || || 7.4 || 9.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022âÂÂ23 | style="text-align:left;"| Partizan | 38 || 23 || 30.2 || .674 || .000 || .734 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|7.1* || 1.4 || .9 || .8 || 12.0 || 19.1 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2023âÂÂ24â | style="text-align:left;"| Panathinaikos | style="background:#CFECEC;"|41* || 29 || 29.4 || .624 || .000 || .607 || 6.3 || 1.4 || 1.0 || .9 || 13.9 || 19.6 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#FFB5C0"| 2024âÂÂ25 | style="text-align:left;"| Panathinaikos | 19 || 16 || 25.4 || .714 || .000 || .644 || 6.5 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 13.0 || 20.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 155 || 104 || 24.3 || .631 || .000 || .647 || 5.7 || 1.1 || .9 || .7 || 10.6 || 15.3
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018âÂÂ19 | style="text-align:left;"| Málaga | 19 || 11 || 21.9 || .701 || || .602 || 5.4 || 1.1 || .9 || 1.3 || 11.0 || 16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020âÂÂ21 | style="text-align:left;"| Monaco | 23 || 17 || 24.6 || .583 || .000 || .672 || 6.1 || 1.1 || .9 || 1.2 || 12.5 || 17.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021âÂÂ22 | style="text-align:left;"| Partizan | 10 || 4 || 23.4 || .634 || || .683 || 6.4 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .5 || 13.1 || 19.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 52 || 32 || 23.4 || .630 || .000 || .651 || 5.9 || 1.1 || .9 || 1.1 || 12.1 || 17.6
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015âÂÂ16 | style="text-align:left;"| ÃÂlan Chalon | 18 || 6 || 16.1 || .623 || || .721 || 5.0 || .8 || .4 || .9 || 7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016âÂÂ17 | style="text-align:left;"| Nanterre | 20 || 18 || 21.3 || .634 || .000 || .689 || 6.3 || .6 || .7 || 1.3 || 9.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 38 || 24 || 18.8 || .630 || .000 || .705 || 5.7 || .7 || .6 || 1.1 || 8.6