Mathias Lessort’s NBA potential is progressing in Euroleague
When the 76ers drafted three international big men in the 2017 NBA Draft, it was a confusing move. The Sixers already had three centers on their roster — a potential star in Joel Embiid, a quality backup in Richaun Holmes and a problematic decision to make with Jahlil Okafor. It was no surprise, then, that all three of Anzejs Pasecniks, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort stayed abroad for a year, where they could polish their skills and wait for a potential NBA spot to open up, either when the 76ers moved on from Okafor or Holmes, or a trade opened up a spot on another team.
The move has worked out well for Pasecniks, who has excelled in a larger role for Gran Canaria in the Spanish ACB and Eurocup. Bolden has also performed as expected for Maccabi Tel Aviv, delivering on the promise he showed when he stole the show for the 76ers at Summer League. Lessort, however, was more of a mystery. The 50th overall pick was a disappointment in the Summer League setting, playing just three games and shooting 25.0 percent from the field as he struggled to fit in to the NBA style of basketball. How the 22-year-old Frenchman would perform for Red Star Belgrade in the Euroleague was unknown even though he had a strong run with Nanterre in France leading up to the NBA Draft.
Through 13 games in Euroleague and the ACB, it’s been clear Lessort has been close to the level of Pasecniks and Bolden. Lessort has averaged 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game, and his shooting from Summer League appears to have been an anomaly, as he’s shot an outstanding 69.9 percent from the field this season. Lessort has been a bright spot for Red Star despite a predictably rough 2-4 start to Euroleague and a disappointing 5-2 opening to Adriatic League play.
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Much of Lessort’s finishing success this season has come from his motor, which was a big selling point for him in the lead-up to the draft. Built like a bowling ball at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Lessort flies around in the halfcourt and in transition, and there’s been no shortage of highlight reel dunks this year as he has benefited from Red Star’s more up-tempo offense.
He’s been able to translate his offensive rebounding to Red Star as well, a skill that should be his calling card in the NBA. Lessort was an outlier in last year’s deep center class in this regard, posting a 16.6 percent offensive rebounding rate in French league play with Nanterre. He’s posting similar numbers this year (16.3 percent) despite a stronger level of competition. He has good instincts for reading the ball off the glass, but the real selling point is how he uses his athleticism. Lessort has great vertical pop, and he’s able to put that together with his instincts to turn in some spectacular put-back plays.
This vertical athleticism has been the skill that has most stood out watching Lessort this season. Lessort is relatively undersized to play five with less than ideal height and non-elite length to compensate for it. At the Euroleague level, however, he’s done a pretty good job this season of using that vertical pop to compensate. On the offensive end, space clears for him on rolls to the rim thanks to the threat of getting dunked on.
Lessort’s biggest improvement on offense has been his ability as a pick-and-roll big man. He has always looked the part as a strong finisher with good touch and a strong frame, but he’s been relatively disappointing in the pick-and-roll until this year. Early returns from this season highlight both his athleticism and improvement as a screener. He uses his lower body as a weapon, getting a good bump on guards and clearing space for his ball-handler. While he doesn’t always get a good seal on his opponent, he can be a useful roll man in a wide-open spread pick-and-roll offense.
That vertical athleticism has been more important for Lessort on the defensive end, where he’s made some surprisingly strong plays, which spells good things about his potential to make the NBA jump. Despite concerns about length and lack of agility, Lessort has looked decent on defense, thanks to his progression as a shot-blocker and his motor. He’s been more willing to challenge shots at the rim this season rather than focusing on securing a box-out, allowing him to display some timing we didn’t see much of last year.
Lessort’s positioning and anticipation aren’t where they need to be yet for him to be a legitimate rim protection option. Part of that is due to his role. As a Euroleague five, he can’t just track to the center of the lane because he has to be in position to battle players like Ante Tomic or Gustavo Ayon on the low block. The problem is he just doesn’t seem to have elite awareness, and he can be taken out of position with poor reactions to on-ball action. That leads to him chasing blocks and biting on pump-fakes because he has to make up a lot of ground to get in a good spot to get a hand on the shot going up.
Nonetheless, having the timing and explosiveness is a nice baseline, and that will at least allow him to have some defensive impact, even if expecting him to be a reliable anchor for a defense might be aiming too high.
Lessort’s motor has also shown through in his steal rate, which at 2.6 percent is at its highest since his 2014-15 season with Chalon. This is another spot where his nonstop motor shines, and while he gambles a little too much at times on the perimeter, he can create some havoc with his ability to read simple passes and get his hands in passing lanes.
Lessort has produced well to start his first Euroleague season, and he’s progressed in the pick-and-roll and as a shot-blocker, two things that will be valuable for him at the NBA level. Adding skills beyond his finishing and offensive rebounding is paramount to his projection to the next level, and so far it seems he’s doing that.
Of course, Lessort still has issues to work through. On offense, he isn’t a good passer, and he offers very little away from the basket as a shooter. And while his defensive film looks good, it’s concerning that lineups Lessort has spent at least five minutes on the court with through six Euroleague games have been outscored by 25 points, per Overbasket.com. That may indicate his chasing of blocks is more detrimental than a positive.
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How he progresses on the defensive end throughout the year will be huge for evaluating if he’s ready to be a passable defender in the NBA. Lessort’s not ready yet for that transition, but the early returns for him this year have shown a little bit of promise, and indicate he easily could continue to grow into a useful energy big in an NBA context. A high motor, good vertical athleticism and the ability to make havoc plays can find you a role on an NBA bench, and Lessort is showing this year he is on the path to being a useful piece for the 76ers.