Report: Knicks Had Interest in French Olympic Star

No active New York Knick is partaking in the ongoing Paris Olympics, which wrap up with this weekend’s basketball competitions between the United States and France.

Any Knick fan who wanted to justify rooting for host nation France in the men’s portion on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC) could look toward Mathias Lessort, whose NBA draft rights are owned by New York following a trade at the 2020 draft (the same one that acquired first-round choice Immanuel Quickley from Oklahoma City).

Per SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks sought to finally exercise those rights as they searched for interior depth in the wake of Isaiah Hartenstein’s departure. Alas, Lessort’s NBA debut will have to wait as the two sides were unable to find common ground.

“Did the Knicks consider Lessort as they were searching for depth on the front line earlier this offseason? They did,” Begley said. “New York inquired about Lessort’s interest in signing but the player and team were unable to find common ground.”

The Knicks instead re-upped with Precious Achiuwa, who is currently penciled in as the backup center behind a Mitchell Robinson fresh off ankle procedures. New York also carries veteran Jericho Sims and second-round rookie Ariel Hukporti on its roster, which has one open spot entering the weekend.

Lessort, who turns 29 in September, has had an active, accomplished 2024, winning both a Greek League and EuroLeague championship with Panathinaikos before his Olympic medal destiny. He was originally drafted in the 2017 by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 50th pick and is the most recent winner of the Greek League’s “Most Spectacular Player” award previously earned by former Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Mario Hezonja.

In five Olympic showings for the hosting French, Lessort is averaging 7.6 points (on over 63 percent shooting) and 3.4 rebounds in just over 14 minutes a game in relief of active NBA stars Rudy Gobert (Minnesota) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio). Les Bleus head coach Vincent Collet publicly wondered why Lessort had no place on an NBA roster after a quarterfinal victory over Canada this week, one that saw him score 13 points in relief of an ailing Gobert.

“Mathias was probably the best player in the EuroLeague this year. They won the championship with Panathinaikos, and he was not far from winning the MVP. So for me, it’s not a surprise,” Collet said. “I don’t understand why he is not playing in the NBA. I don’t know why no team in the NBA takes this guy.”

Lessort is now destined to win his first Olympic medal, which will be France’s fourth and second in a row.

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