Dominant at the start of the season before suffering a serious injury on December 19, Mathias Lessort should not worry about his future at Panathinaikos. The owner of the Greek club, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, announced on Instagram on Tuesday that the Frenchman had extended his lease with the Athens club for three seasons.
“ When we talk about family, there are no negotiations » announced Dimitris Giannakopoulos. “ You just sit on the couch, smile at each other for five minutes, and sign on for three more years. » Mathias Lessort reached the end of his contract at the end of this financial year.
For the player trained in Chalon-sur-Saône, who played for Partizan Belgrade and Monaco, it is a great reward after a first high-level season with Pana, crowned with a Euroleague title and a place in the best five in the competition. The Martinican started on equally solid foundations, averaging 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 20.5 ratings in the premier European competition.
A salary of 2.7 million euros net per year
His season was nevertheless partly compromised by his terrible injury, a fractured fibula, suffered against Baskonia. Mathias Lessort is not expected to return to competition before the end of April.
A monster of intensity near the circle, the pivot had also done the greatest good to the interior sector of the French Team during the Olympics. He was one of the detonators for the Blues during the decisive matches, with 13 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes against Canada in the quarter-final, or even 10 points in 16 minutes against Germany in the semi-final. Enough to arouse the interest of the Knicks, who came to information last summer, without follow-up.
His future now seems to be long-term in Greece where he is the darling of Pana supporters… unless a possible NBA exit clause has been slipped into his new contract.
A contract which should in any case make the Frenchman one of the best paid players in Europe, since Eurohoops is talking about 8.3 million euros over the next three seasons, or 2.75 million euros net per year. That's the equivalent of $5.7 million in the NBA, since we're talking about pre-tax salaries in the Big League.
