0. Punter

Kevin Punter was born in New York on 25 June 1993 and played college basketball at Tennessee University before making his way to Europe for spells in Greece, Belgium, Poland, Italy and Serbia before arriving in Barcelona. 

Not selected in the NBA Draft after college, he ended up at one of Greece's lesser clubs in Lavrio BC. But he barely figured in his time there, and before the season was out, he had moved to another modest club in the Antwerp Giants of Belgium. It was there that people started realising that there was more to this player than he had been credited with.

In July 2017, he was picked up by Polish side Rosa Radom, and his 19.8 points per game were enough to catch the eye of bigger clubs. He would soon be headed back to Greece, but this time to play for one of the country's top sides, AEK Athens. That was where he finally hit the big time, and the following 2018/19 season he had a new home, Italy, and Virtus Bologna, where he averaged 14.4 a game in Lega play.

In 2019/20, he moved again, for a third spell in Greece, this time with Olympiacos. That was where he gained his first EuroLeague experience. But then he was on the move yet again, this time to a new country, Serbia,  where he donned the colours of Red Star Belgrade, where he averaged 15.9 points a game. After that, he returned to Italy, this time Olimpia Milano, who he helped all the way to the EuroLeague Final Four, where his side were beaten by none other than Barça.

After playing for more clubs than seasons, it was in 2020/21 that he finally settled at a single club. That one was KK Partizan, where although he would be playing in the Eurocup, he was attracted by the idea of playing under veteran Serb Zeljko Obradovic. His 16.3 points in continental play, followed by similar scoring in the two seasons that followed, quickly established him as the star of the Belgrade side. 

TECHNICAL PROFILE 

Punter is a highly versatile player who can lead the team when needed. He is considered one of the finest point scorers in the European game.