Former Zenit big Alex Poythress has officially become a member of Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli giants announced Tuesday. He signed a two-year deal with the EuroLeague powerhouse after finishing a stint in Russia with Zenit.
“I’m very happy to join the legendary Maccabi franchise. exited to come to Tel Aviv and meet the amazing fan base”,Poythress told in his opening statement. “I want to thank the organization and the management. l had a great talk with coach Oded. Let’s go Maccabi!”.
In the last two seasons, Alex Poythress established himself as one of the leading forwards in the EuroLeague with a lot of power and athleticism. During the 2021-22 campaign, he recorded 23 games in the EuroLeague averaging 7.7 points along with 5.3 rebounds.
The Georgia native starred as a part of a great collegiate program in Kentucky under John Calipari, before making the jump to the NBA. He was undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft and made his first appearance in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The following season, he took part in 25 games with the Pacers and spent some time in the G-League, before signing with Atlanta in the summer of 2018. In 2019, he made the jump overseas to play for Jilin Northeast Tigers from the Chinese league.
In the same season, he had his first experience in the European basketball, signing with Galatasaray mid-season. He contributed 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in the Turkish league and created the platform to made his debut in the EuroLeague.
Zenit secured his services and Poythress became one of the important factors in a successful team that won a historic VTB championship this past season. Zenit broke CSKA’s nine-year run in the VTB League.
Here comes Alex the great! 🔥#FireUp | #WelcomePoythress | @AlexTheGreat22 pic.twitter.com/R0K17wGxl0
— Maccabi Tel Aviv BC (@MaccabitlvBC) June 21, 2022
