A veteran with a very specific role filled it with perfection on the way to the EuroCup title.
Tribute to the champs: Michael Kessens
As many of his Paris Basketball teammates, Michael Kessens made his BKT EuroCup debut this season and finished it in the best way possible: celebrating with his teammates on top of the podium.
Kessens and Bandja Sy played key veteran roles on a young roster. After finishing his college career, Kessens went on to play for several German teams, such as Eisbaeren Bremenhaven, Rasta Vechta, Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt and Telekom Baskets Bonn, where he met some of his current teammates, as well as head coach Tuomas Iisalo. This season in Paris, Kessens played a really important role off the bench as Leon Kratzer's backup, offering toughness, rebounds and effectiveness in the paint.
Indeed, Kessens is one of the six players that signed for Paris this season and played for Coach Iisalo in the 2022-23 campaign at Bonn. Kessens embraced his back-up role and executed it close to perfection, averaging 4.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and a PIR of 4.2 in 10 regular season games.
Come the postseason, Kessens was always ready when Coach Iisalo called his number. He had 8 points and 3 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Joventut Badalona and averaged 3.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and a PIR of 6.0 in the finals against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. No rebounder was as efficient as Kessens led the finals with 12.9 rebounds per 40 minutes.
He was an important piece of the puzzle and got his reward by lifting the EuroCup trophy!