The captain of the Polish national team, Mateusz Ponitka, flourished under head coach Igor Milicic in the national squad.
He shined at EuroBasket 2022, when he led Poland to a quarterfinal victory against Slovenia and the country’s first semifinal appearance since 1971.
In that game, he recorded a triple double with 26 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, which remains the fourth such performance in EuroBasket history. The following year, he signed a two year contract with Partizan, but stayed only one season. Mateusz Ponitka played 26 EuroLeague games and averaged just 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in a season in which the Belgrade club failed to win a single trophy.
Claim Now He left the team in the summer of 2024 and moved to Turkey, where he still plays for Bahcesehir – first under head coach Dejan Radonjic and now with Marko Barac. His national team coach Igor Milicic commented on Ponitka’s season with Partizan in an interview with B92.sport.
“I still stand by the fact that he should have had a bigger role. I do not know why it happened that he was not used in Partizan the way he played before Partizan, after Partizan, or with the national team. I think that at that moment, alongside all those incredible scorers Partizan had, Ponitka could have been the perfect balance on the court. However, it is what it is, I have nothing more to add about that.
I am happy that he continues to show his quality, and in the national team they rightfully call him ‘FIBA Lebron’ because of the way he plays. With me, players generally elevate their level. Maybe they play slightly different roles and through wins they come to the forefront. We also have Pluta and young guys at the power forward position, and many good things have been happening with the national team all these years.”
Changes in European basketball are, in his opinion, positive, especially because young players will receive greater opportunities.
“I think it can only help. If the level of competition is rising, we must improve the work with younger categories so those players can handle these challenges. We can complain and look for excuses, but we have the example of Mega, which does an excellent job and produces young players ready for stronger leagues every year. It is not just Mega. There is also Ulm where my sons play. They give opportunities to young players in the EuroCup – my son got the chance at 17 years old to play in the BBL, meaning the German Bundesliga, and the EuroCup for five, ten or fifteen minutes.
So it is possible to develop players to become quality professionals, which automatically increases their value. We should not look for excuses but work and compete with the strongest teams, whether in the EuroLeague or EuroCup, and now the NBA influence is also coming. That gives all of us a chance for better results. I support that, just like I support college basketball, which develops young players in many ways.
While the biggest clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern or Partizan and Zvezda were taking young players from others, that was fine. And now when someone takes players from them, it becomes a problem? No, we move forward, we must adapt and work harder. That is simply the reality.”
Basketball Sphere INTERVIEW – Markus Howard (@markushoward11)
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) March 12, 2026
🔴 Chima Moneke (@Chimdogg_) has an overlooked quality,
🔵 Joan Penarroya handled the Partizan situation very well,
🔴 I had heard the stories…
🔵 Two years in the NBA with Nikola Jokic in Denver Nuggets,
🔴 I’m…
