Kevin Punter is first signing to Barça 2024/25

Kevin Punter is the newest addition to the FC Barcelona basketball roster. Born in New York, the 1.93 metre guard also holds a Serbian passport and is signing for one year of service under Joan Peñarroya.

An ambitious point scorer, Punter very nearly joined Barça last summer, but this time it's for real, and in a message from his native United States, where he is currently taking a summer break, he told fans "I am really looking forward to being in Barcelona. I'm really excited about next season and hope to give my best. See you soon and Força Barça!”

High scorer

Punter, who turns 31 next week, is a highly versatile player who can lead the team when needed. He's considered one of the finest point scorers in the European game, and isn't afraid of rising to the occasion. He was the captain and veritable hero at his former club Partizan, and fully intends to do the same at the Palau Blaugrana.

Last season he averaged 15 points and 2.6 assists in 28 EuroLeague games, keeping up a similar rate to his overall performances across 128 games in Europe's premier competition, along with an impressive 39.3% 3-pointer conversion rate.

Much travelled

Punter played college hoops at the Tennessee Volunteers, and then crossed the Atlantic to play in five different countries, which are soon to become six.

As he wasn't picked in the NBA Draft, he ended up at one of Greece's lesser clubs in Lavrio BC. But he barely figured in his time there, and before the season was out, he had moved to another modest club in the Antwert Giants of Belgium. It was there that people started realising that there was more to this player than he had been credited with.

In July 2017, he was picked up by Polish side Rosa Radom, and his 19.8 points per game were enough to catch the eye of bigger clubs. He would soon be headed back to Greece, but this time to play for one of the country's top sides, AEK Athens. That was where he finally hit the big time, and the following 2018/19 season he had a new home, Italy, and Virtus Bologna, where he averaged 14.4 a game in Lega play.

EuroLeague experience

In 2019/20, he moved again, for a third spell in Greece, this time with Olympiacos. That was where he gained his first EuroLeague experience. But then he was on the move yet again, this time to a new country, Serbia,  where he donned the colours of Red Star Belgrade, where he averaged 15.9 points a game. After that, he returned to Italy, this time Olimpia Milano, who he helped all the way to the EuroLeague Final Four, where his side were beaten by none other than Barça.

Partizan, first stable home

After playing for more clubs than seasons, it was in 2020/21 that he finally settled at a single club. That one was KK Partizan, where although he would be playing in the Eurocup, he was attracted by the idea of playing under veteran Serb Zeljko Obradovic. His 16.3 points in continental play, followed by similar scoring in the two seasons that followed, quickly established him as the star of the Belgrade side, and now he is bringing that impressive form to the Catalan capital.