Tibor Pleiss joins NBA's Utah Jazz
July 15, 2015
The Utah Jazz have officially signed German center Tibor Pleiss to a multiyear deal, after securing the player's NBA rights back in February after a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 7-foot-3 Pleiss joins after a season at Barcelona in Spain's Liga ACB, where he averaged 5.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and shot 62.3 percent. Pleiss has yet to step onto the court in NBA colors in his career though.
The 25-year-old started his career in Cologne before joining Brose Baskets in 2009. In 2010, Pleiss was first drafted by the New Jersey Nets with the 31st pick, before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks and then to the Thunder. At the end of May this year, Pleiss denied rumors that he would be joining Bayern Munich, writing in a statement on his Facebook page saying: "Before even more nonsense appears, there is nothing in the rumor that I am joining Bayern."
Pleiss is currently the fourth German player in the NBA, following legend Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and Dennis Schröder. Pleiss has been selected ahead of Kaman in the Germany squad for the European Championships that start on September 5.
jh/asz (AP, dpa)