Tibor was born on November, 2nd in 1989 in Bergisch-Gladbach near Cologne. He spent his childhood in Cologne-Dellbrück, attended the Peter Petersen primary school and afterwards the comprehensive school of Cologne-Holweide. At the age of 10 he joined his first basketball club MTV Köln 1860. In 2003 he signed up with the youth program of RheinEnergie Cologne. At the start of the new German Youth Bundesliga (NBBL) in summer 2006 Tibor moved from the right side of the rhine river to the sports boarding school of Cologne in the western part of the town.
In that first NBBL-year especially Tibor and his teammate Philipp Schwethelm performed really well and they won the western conference with their head coach Zoran Kukic. Schwethelm was named the first NBBL-MVP of the history and Tibor was one of the best rebounders and shot blockers of the league. Unfortunately the Junior Team of RheinEnergie did not make it to the final four.
In 2006 RheinEnergie Bundesliga Head Coach and serbian basketball legend Sasa Obradovic recognized Tibors talent and he gave him the chance to practice in the first team with Big Men like Marcin Gortat, Sasa Nadjfeji and Ronnie Burrell. With those teammates Tibor could significantly improve his game.
Tibor perfectly used the opportunity of the tough economic situation in the season 2007/2008 in Cologne. The coaching staff and the management of the club had a lot of confidence in the 18-year old center. He got more and more minutes on the court and established his position under the boards.
In Summer 2009 Tibor was named member of the German national team for the first time and made his debut on August 15th against Serbia and their big man Nenad Krstic.
After the insolvency in Cologne Tibor moved to the Brose Baskets Bamberg in 2009, where he immediately won the domestic cup and later in June the championship. He was named “BBL Rookie of the Year” and was one of the best players during the finals.
In 2010 Tibor has been drafted as the first pick in the second round from the New Jersey Nets, who traded him straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bamberg repeated their national titles also in the 2011 and 2012-season. Under head coach Chris Flemming Tibor was named in June 2011 the best player under 24-years of the German Beko-Basketball-Bundesliga.
After Germany remained unbeaten in summer 2012 at the European-Qualification regarding the Euro 2013 in Slovenia, Tibor signed with the Spanish Team Caja Laboral to play in the ACB.
Tibor gave his debut in the ACB in the 2012-13 season, where he became one of the leaders of the team.
A terrific season 2013-14 was the next step in his career. He doubled his stats in the ACB and the Euroleague and was honored five times for player of the week in the ACB.
The 2014-15 season Tibor plays for the FC Barcelona, one of the well respected and most successful clubs in Europe.
In summer 2015 Tibor signs a 3-year contract with the Utah Jazz to play in the NBA. The contract was traded in the summer 2016 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the 2016/2017 season Tibor returns to Europe after the contract with the 76ers was waived. Now the season he starts for Galatasaray Istanbul.
After a successful season in Turkey, Tibor returns to Spain in the summer of 2017. He signed a two-year contract with the Spanish champions Valencia Basket.
In 2018 Tibor will return to Turkey to play for the top team Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The team has been remodeled and reinforced with other top players to win titles in the national league and the Euroleague.
Artland Dragons on 14.02.2010
National Team DBB
Emporio Armani Mailand on 13.03.2014
Hagen on 08.10.2010
Career
German National Team
Tibor became a member of the National Team in 2009 and played 105 games til today. He attended four European Championships and also showed his potential during the World Championship in Turkey.
Köln 99ers
Tibor made his debut for the German Champion in February 2007 and also scored his first points as a professional Basketball player with a 3-pointer vs. Frankfurt. He already grew up with the Junior Team and became a member of the German National Team in 2009.
_MMerz_005.jpg)
_MMerz_006.jpg)
_MMerz_007.jpg)
_MMerz_008.jpg)
Brose Baskets Bamberg
Signed with Brose Bamberg in 2009. Won the Championship and the Domestic Cup three years in a row. Tibor was named BBL Rookie of the year in 2010. He was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2010-NBA-Draft as the first pick in 2nd round but kept playing in Germany to develop his game.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Moved to Vitoria in 2012. Tibor earned ACB Player of the Week honors five times in the 2013/14 season. He averaged 12 points per game in the Euroleague and 12,7 points in the ACB.
FC Barcelona
Tibor signed with FC Barcelona in 2014 to play in Palau Sant Jordi. He developed his game on the highest european level. He was named Player of the Week in the ACB Liga Endesa after a 90-67-win against Zaragoza with 15 Points and 11 Rebounds.
Utah Jazz
Moved to the US to play for the Utah Jazz. Played 12 games for the Jazz including a 8-point game vs. San Antonio Spurs in Jan. 2016. Played also for D-League Team Idaho Stampede and recorded an average of 12,3 points and 10,5 Rebounds in 28 games.
Galatasaray Istanbul
Back in Europe Tibor played for Eurocup Winner Galatasaray in the Euroleague. He was named Euroleague MVP in the 8th week after a win against Darüssafaka were he logged 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in only 22 minutes.
Valencia Basket Club
Started his season at Valencia in 2017 succesfully by winning the spanisch Super Copa. Played his 150 Euroleague game and crossed the 1.000-point threshold for his Euroleague carreer.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Turkish Top Euroleague Team Anadolu Efes Istanbul signed Tibor for the 2018/ 19 season. He started the season by winning the Supercup beating Fenerbahce and finished it with the Turkish National Championship. Tibor attended the Euroleague Final Four in 2019 in Vitoria. He made his 200 Euroleague game in 2020 and is currently ranked All-Euroleague 7th place in Blocks and 17th in Rebounds - still climbing the ladder...
Awards
- 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2022 EUROLEAGUE CHAMPION WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2022 NATIONAL CUP WINNER TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK AND FINAL MVP
- 2021 EUROLEAGUE CHAMPION WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2021 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2019 PRESIDENT CUP WINNER TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2019 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2019 EUROLEAGUE FINAL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2018 PRESIDENT-CUP WINNER TSL WITH ANADOLU EFES SK
- 2017 SUPA-COPA WINNER ACB WITH VALÉNCIA BASKET CLUB
- 2014 NBA-DRAFT (1ST PICK SECOND ROUND)
- 2012 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, NATIONAL CUP WITH BROSE BASKETS BAMBERG
- 2011 BBL BEST PLAYER U24
- 2011 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, NATIONAL CUP WITH BROSE BASKETS BAMBERG
- 2010 BBL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, BBL-ALLSTAR
- 2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, NATIONAL CUP WITH BROSE BASKETS BAMBERG
- 2007 NATIONAL CUP WITH RHEINERGIE KÖLN
Videos, Wallpapers, Press
Tibor was born on November, 2nd in 1989 in Bergisch-Gladbach near Cologne. He spent his childhood in Cologne-Dellbrück, attended the Peter Petersen primary school and afterwards the comprehensive school of Cologne-Holweide. At the age of 10 he joined his first basketball club MTV Köln 1860. In 2003 he signed up with the youth program of RheinEnergie Cologne. At the start of the new German Youth Bundesliga (NBBL) in summer 2006 Tibor moved from the right side of the rhine river to the sports boarding school of Cologne in the western part of the town.
In that first NBBL-year especially Tibor and his teammate Philipp Schwethelm performed really well and they won the western conference with their head coach Zoran Kukic. Schwethelm was named the first NBBL-MVP of the history and Tibor was one of the best rebounders and shot blockers of the league. Unfortunately the Junior Team of RheinEnergie did not make it to the final four.
In 2006 RheinEnergie Bundesliga Head Coach and serbian basketball legend Sasa Obradovic recognized Tibors talent and he gave him the chance to practice in the first team with Big Men like Marcin Gortat, Sasa Nadjfeji and Ronnie Burrell. With those teammates Tibor could significantly improve his game.
Tibor perfectly used the opportunity of the tough economic situation in the season 2007/2008 in Cologne. The coaching staff and the management of the club had a lot of confidence in the 18-year old center. He got more and more minutes on the court and established his position under the boards.
In Summer 2009 Tibor was named member of the German national team for the first time and made his debut on August 15th against Serbia and their big man Nenad Krstic.
After the insolvency in Cologne Tibor moved to the Brose Baskets Bamberg in 2009, where he immediately won the domestic cup and later in June the championship. He was named “BBL Rookie of the Year” and was one of the best players during the finals.
In 2010 Tibor has been drafted as the first pick in the second round from the New Jersey Nets, who traded him straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bamberg repeated their national titles also in the 2011 and 2012-season. Under head coach Chris Flemming Tibor was named in June 2011 the best player under 24-years of the German Beko-Basketball-Bundesliga.
After Germany remained unbeaten in summer 2012 at the European-Qualification regarding the Euro 2013 in Slovenia, Tibor signed with the Spanish Team Caja Laboral to play in the ACB.
Tibor gave his debut in the ACB in the 2012-13 season, where he became one of the leaders of the team.
A terrific season 2013-14 was the next step in his career. He doubled his stats in the ACB and the Euroleague and was honored five times for player of the week in the ACB.
The 2014-15 season Tibor plays for the FC Barcelona, one of the well respected and most successful clubs in Europe.
In summer 2015 Tibor signs a 3-year contract with the Utah Jazz to play in the NBA. The contract was traded in the summer 2016 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the 2016/2017 season Tibor returns to Europe after the contract with the 76ers was waived. Now the season he starts for Galatasaray Istanbul.
After a successful season in Turkey, Tibor returns to Spain in the summer of 2017. He signed a two-year contract with the Spanish champions Valencia Basket.
In 2018 Tibor will return to Turkey to play for the top team Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The team has been remodeled and reinforced with other top players to win titles in the national league and the Euroleague.
Social: #TiborPleiss