Speaking to Milun Nesovic of the Serbian outlet Meridian Sport, former NBA first-round pick Aleksej Pokusevski says he thinks he has a “realistic” chance at making it back to the league, as Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops relays.
A slender seven-footer from Belgrade, Serbia, Pokusevski was selected 17th overall in the 2020 draft. He spent three-and-a-half seasons with Oklahoma City before being traded to Charlotte in February 2024.
The 24-year-old finished out the 2023/24 campaign with the Hornets, but has been out of the NBA the past two seasons, suiting up for KK Partizan prior to signing with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia earlier this month.
Pokusevski acknowledged he’ll need to continue to improve his game to have a shot at making it back to the NBA. He averaged 7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .391/.304/.702 shooting in 168 career outings (20.4 minutes per game) and didn’t make a major impact in the EuroLeague either of the past two years.
“I went to the NBA early and played a lot. I was both good and bad,” Pokusevski told Meridian Sport. “There was a bit of everything.
“After that, I came to the EuroLeague, to Partizan, where I wasn’t the happiest with how everything went and how it ended. I’m certainly considering a return to the NBA. I don’t like to think about unrealistic things, but I believe this is something realistic, especially considering my age.
“There will be time to reach that level. I don’t think about the NBA every day, but it’s on my mind. I need to take steps every day, not just to get to the NBA, but to reach a level where I can play good basketball with the right status, whether in Lokomotiv or some EuroLeague team. Of course, I want to be in the NBA, but that can only be achieved naturally and with good decisions.”
While his representatives talked to multiple EuroLeague teams this summer, including some in Greece, Pokusevski said he was focused on landing with a club that would enable him to play a significant role. He believes he’s found that with Lokomotiv, which is coached by Tomislav Tomovic, a former professional player and coach from Serbia.
