# Kevin Punter

Kevin Xavier Punter Jr. (born June 25, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB 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, 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.

## 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. In 2016, he signed with Lavrio of the Greek Basket League for 40.000 eur per year. 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.
In July 2017, he signed with Rosa Radom. 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.

### AEK Athens

On February 10, 2018, he moved to AEK Athens for the rest of the season. 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. 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. 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, after also being named to the competition's Star Lineup.

### Olympiacos (2019)

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

### Olimpia Milano (2020–2021)

On June 18, 2020, Punter signed with the Italian EuroLeague club Olimpia Milano. 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.
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. 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.

### FC Barcelona (2024–present)

On June 19, 2024, Punter signed a one-year contract with FC Barcelona of Liga ACB and EuroLeague In October 2024, he earned a Euroleague Basketball's MVP honors for October. He averaged 18.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals.

## Career statistics
### 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 |
| 2019–20 | Crvena zvezda | 12 | 0 | 22.1 | .477 | .481 | .894 | 1.1 | 1.5 | .6 | .1 | 15.9 | 13.7 |
| 2020–21 | Olimpia 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 | Partizan | 28 | 24 | 29.1 | .463 | .350 | .902 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.0 | 14.2 |
| Career | Career | 124 | 84 | 25.8 | .453 | .393 | .894 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .9 | .1 | 14.5 | 12.6 |

### EuroCup

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
| 2021–22 | Partizan | 17 | 15 | 27.1 | .460 | .289 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 16.2 | 16.5 |
| Career | Career | 17 | 15 | 27.1 | .460 | .289 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 16.2 | 16.5 |

### Basketball Champions League

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2017–18 | Rosa Radom | 14 | 14 | 31.2 | .435 | .357 | .771 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | .1 | 21.1 |
| 2017–18 | AEK Athens | 6 | 0 | 23.1 | .470 | .419 | .680 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | .2 | 15.3 |
| 2018–19 | Virtus Bologna | 20 | 20 | 27.0 | .449 | .418 | .807 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | .3 | 15.9 |
| Career | Career | 40 | 34 | 27.9 | .445 | .394 | .770 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .2 | 17.7 |

### Domestic leagues

| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2016–17 | Lavrio | HEBA A1 | 21 | 23.2 | .445 | .432 | .800 | 2.4 | .9 | .9 | .1 | 12.5 |
| 2016–17 | Antwerp Giants | PBL | 15 | 23.3 | .390 | .302 | .868 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 | .1 | 11.1 |
| 2017–18 | Rosa Radom | PLK | 20 | 29.9 | .482 | .370 | .819 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 1.4 | .0 | 19.3 |
| 2017–18 | AEK Athens | HEBA A1 | 13 | 19.6 | .430 | .356 | .872 | 2.1 | .8 | .9 | .1 | 10.9 |
| 2018–19 | Virtus Bologna | LBA | 29 | 26.5 | .418 | .345 | .894 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .1 | 14.2 |
| 2019–20 | Crvena zvezda | ABA | 8 | 19.3 | .419 | .360 | .929 | 1.5 | 1.7 | .9 | .1 | 10.9 |
| 2020–21 | Olimpia Milano | LBA | 28 | 21.9 | .414 | .395 | .844 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 11.1 |
| 2021–22 | Partizan | ABA | 32 | 25.7 | .417 | .350 | .885 | 2.4 | 3.1 | .8 | .0 | 12.5 |
| 2022–23 | Partizan | ABA | 36 | 22.0 | .496 | .405 | .891 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 1.1 | .1 | 9.9 |
| 2023–24 | Partizan | KLS | 4 | 18.0 | .576 | .545 | .667 | 2.5 | 2.2 | .5 | .2 | 11.5 |
| 2023–24 | Partizan | ABA | 27 | 21.9 | .412 | .333 | .912 | 2.1 | 2.7 | .8 | .1 | 9.4 |

### College

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2014–15 | Tennessee | 32 | 31 | 31.0 | .419 | .352 | .685 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .2 | 10.3 |
| 2015–16 | Tennessee | 26 | 26 | 34.1 | .460 | .369 | .817 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .2 | 22.2 |
| Career | Career | 58 | 57 | 32.4 | .443 | .362 | .776 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 | .2 | 15.6 |

## Awards and accomplishments
### College career

* Second-team All-SEC: (2016)

### Pro career

* 2 x FIBA Champions League Champion: (2018, 2019)
* Basketball Champions League Final Four MVP: (2019)
* Greek Cup Winner: (2018)
* Italian Cup winner (2021)
* Adriatic League champion (2023)