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Kevin Punter

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Kevin Punter
Kevin panter Basketball player
Punter with Partizan Belgrade in 2023
No. 0 – FC Barcelona
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1993-06-25) June 25, 1993 (age 31)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Serbian
Listed height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight81 kg (179 lb)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Lavrio
2017Antwerp Giants
2017–2018Rosa Radom
2018AEK Athens
2018–2019Virtus Bologna
2019Olympiacos
2019–2020Crvena zvezda
2020–2021Olimpia Milano
2021–2024Partizan
2024–presentFC Barcelona
Career highlights and awards

Kevin Xavier Punter Jr. (born June 25, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Liga Endesa and the EuroLeague. In addition to being a citizen of the United States, Punter also has Serbian citizenship.

After playing two years each of college basketball at State Fair Community College and Tennessee, Punter went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft. He started his professional career in Europe, where he has played for elite teams like Virtus Bologna, Olympiacos, KK Crvena Zvezda,Olimpia Milano, and Partizan.

College career

After high school, Punter played college basketball at State Fair Community College, from 2012 to 2014, and at the University of Tennessee, with the Tennessee Volunteers. In his senior year at Tennessee, Punter averaged 22.1 points per game, and 3.4 rebounds per game. Though he missed five games of SEC Conference play, he was named Second Team All-SEC, after finishing with the third-highest scoring average (22.1 points per game), and the fourth-highest free-throw percentage (.853), during conference league games.[1]

Professional career

Early years

After failing to be drafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Punter played with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2016 NBA Summer League.[2] In 2016, he signed with Lavrio of the Greek Basket League for 40.000 eur per year.[3] He played in 21 games for Lavrio, averaging 12.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game. On March 27, 2017, he left Lavrio, and signed with the Antwerp Giants, until the end of the season.[4]

In July 2017, he signed with Rosa Radom.[5] He played in 16 games with Rosa Radom, and went on to average 20.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in the FIBA Basketball Champions League. His very good performances gained the interest of the Turkish Super League club Gaziantep, in February but the player didn't leave the team.[6]

AEK Athens

On February 10, 2018, he moved to AEK Athens for the rest of the season.[7] With AEK, he won the Greek Cup title, in 2018. On May 6, 2018, Punter also won the FIBA Champions League title. In the final, Punter was one of the best players of his team, scoring 16 points.[8] Over 11 Greek Basket League games, Punter averaged 11.4 points and 2.3 rebounds on 44% shooting from the field.

Virtus Bologna (2018–19)

On July 6, 2018, Punter signed a deal with Virtus Bologna for the 2018–19 season.[9] He led the team to winning the Basketball Champions League crown by posting 21 points and eight rebounds in the semifinal over Brose Bamberg, plus 27 points and seven rebounds in the Final against Iberostar Tenerife. He claimed MVP of the Final Four,[10] after also being named to the competition's Star Lineup.[11]

Olympiacos (2019)

On June 28, 2019, Punter signed a two-year contract with the Greek EuroLeague club Olympiacos.[12] On December 24, 2019, he was released by Olympiacos.[13] Three days later, he signed with the Serbian EuroLeague club Crvena zvezda for the rest of the season.[14] On February 11, 2020, Punter obtained a Serbian passport and Serbian citizenship.[15][16]

Olimpia Milano (2020–2021)

On June 18, 2020, Punter signed with the Italian EuroLeague club Olimpia Milano.[17] With Olimpia, he appeared in 36 EuroLeague games, and averaged 14.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Olimpia managed to reach the 2021 EuroLeague Final Four, where they won the third place.

Partizan (2021–2024)

On July 2, 2021, Punter signed a two-year contract with Partizan of the ABA League and the EuroCup.[18]

During the 2022–23 season, Partizan was eliminated by Real Madrid in a tight EuroLeague playoffs series. Over the season, Punter averaged 16.1 points, 2.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after a 3–2 winning series over Crvena zvezda in the finals.[19] In the fifth decisive game, Punter scored 32 points, recorded 5 rebounds and 2 assists and was awarded the ABA League Finals MVP.

On June 29, 2023, after controversial negotiations with both Panathinaikos and FC Barcelona, Punter renewed his contract with Partizan for another two years. Over the 2023–24 season, Punter averaged 15 points, and career-high 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 28 EuroLeague games. The season was deemed to be unsuccessful for Partizan as they finished the season without lifting any trophy.[20]

FC Barcelona (2024–present)

On June 19, 2024, Punter signed a one-year contract with FC Barcelona of Liga ACB and EuroLeague[21]

Career statistics

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

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2019–20 Olympiacos 11 3 10.7 .300 .179 .700 1.9 .8 .5 .1 6.8 2.6
Crvena zvezda 12 0 22.1 .477 .481 .894 1.1 1.5 .6 .1 15.9 13.7
2020–21 Milano 36 33 24.7 .456 .392 .894 1.6 1.4 .8 .1 14.3 11.6
2022–23 Partizan 37 24 27.9 .469 .443 .917 2.1 2.5 1.0 .1 16.1 15.0
2023–24 28 24 29.1 .463 .350 .902 2.6 2.6 1.1 .2 15.0 14.2
Career 124 84 25.8 .453 .393 .894 2.0 2.0 .9 .1 14.5 12.6

FIBA Champions League

[22]

† Denotes seasons in which Punter won the FIBA Champions League
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Rosa Radom 16 31.0 .429 .358 .785 3.4 1.7 1.4 .1 20.6
2017–18† A.E.K. 6 23.1 .470 .419 .680 2.2 1.0 1.2 .2 15.3
2018–19† Virtus Bologna 20 27.0 .449 .418 .807 3.4 1.7 1.1 .3 16.0

Awards and accomplishments

College career

  • Second-team All-SEC: (2016)

Pro career

References

  1. ^ "Kevin Punter Named to All-SEC Team". Sportsradioknoxville.com. March 8, 2016. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Kevin Punter headed to NBA Summer League with Timberwolves". Wbir.com. June 27, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Former Vol Kevin Punter signs with Lavrio Basketball Club of Greece". Knoxnews.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Kevin Punter inks with Antwerp Giants". Sportando.com. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "Kevin Punter nowym zawodnikiem Rosy Radom". echodnia.eu (in Polish). July 19, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "Kevin Punter on Gaziantep's radar". eurohoops.net. February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "AEK signed Kevin Punter". eurohoops.net. February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. ^ "AEK Athens crowned Basketball Champions League Champions". sportando.com. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Virtus Bologna announce Kevin Punter". sportando.basketball. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Final Four MVP, Kevin Punter (26 PTS, 7 REB) led Segafredo Virtus Bologna to the BCL 2018". Championsleague.Basketball. May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  11. ^ "Star Lineup revealed, Blatt Best Young Player". ChampionsLeague.Basketball. May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Olympiacos signed Kevin Punter". Eurohoops.net. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  13. ^ "Olympiacos officially parts ways with Kevin Punter". Talkbasket.net. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  14. ^ "Amerikanac Panter i zvanično pojačao Crvenu zvezdu!". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "Panteru srpski pasoš, Zvezda bez Perperoglua napada "Žućkovu levicu"". novosti.rs. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  16. ^ "Panter dobio srpsko državljanstvo". b92.net. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  17. ^ ""I can't wait to work and try to do somenthing special": Olimpia welcomes Kevin Punter". olimpiamilano.com. June 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "KK Partizan NIS officially signs Kevin Punter". Sportando. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "PARTIZAN MOZZART BET ARE 2022/23 ADMIRALBET ABA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS". aba-liga.com. June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  20. ^ "Očekuje nas burno leto u Partizanu – ko ostaje, a ko odlazi?" (in Serbian). June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  21. ^ "Kevin Punter és el primer fitxatge del Barça 2024/25" (in Catalan). June 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Statistics | AEK at the Basketball Champions League 2017-2018".
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