Kevin Xavier Punter Jr. (born June 25, 1993) is an American professionalbasketball player forFC Barcelona of the SpanishLiga ACB and theEuroLeague. In addition to being a citizen of theUnited States, Punter also hasSerbian citizenship.
After playing two years each ofcollege basketball atState Fair Community College andTennessee, Punter went undrafted in the2016 NBA draft. He started his professional career in Europe, where he has played for elite teams likeVirtus Bologna,Olympiacos,Crvena zvezda,Olimpia Milano, andPartizan.
After high school, Punter playedcollege basketball atState Fair Community College, from 2012 to 2014, and at theUniversity of Tennessee, with theTennessee 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 ofSEC 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.[1]
After failing to be drafted in the2016 NBA draft, Punter played with theMinnesota Timberwolves in the2016 NBA Summer League.[2] In 2016, he signed withLavrio of theGreek Basket League for 40.000 eur per year.[3] 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 theAntwerp Giants, until the end of the season.[4]
In July 2017, he signed withRosa Radom.[5] 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 theFIBA Basketball Champions League. His very good performances gained the interest of theTurkish Super League clubGaziantep, in February but the player didn't leave the team.[6]
On February 10, 2018, he moved toAEK Athens for the rest of the season.[7] With AEK, he won theGreek Cup title,in 2018. On May 6, 2018, Punter also won theFIBA Champions League title. In the final, Punter was one of the best players of his team, scoring 16 points.[8] Over 11Greek Basket League games, Punter averaged 11.4 points and 2.3 rebounds on 44% shooting from the field.
On July 6, 2018, Punter signed a deal withVirtus Bologna for the 2018–19 season.[9] He led the team to winning theBasketball Champions League crown by posting 21 points and eight rebounds in the semifinal overBrose Bamberg, plus 27 points and seven rebounds in the Final againstIberostar Tenerife. He claimedMVP of the Final Four,[10] after also being named to the competition'sStar Lineup.[11]
On June 28, 2019, Punter signed a two-year contract with the GreekEuroLeague clubOlympiacos.[12] On December 24, 2019, he was released by Olympiacos.[13] Three days later, he signed with the Serbian EuroLeague clubCrvena zvezda for the rest of the season.[14] On February 11, 2020, Punter obtained aSerbian passport andSerbian citizenship.[15][16]
On June 18, 2020, Punter signed with the ItalianEuroLeague clubOlimpia Milano.[17] 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 the2021 EuroLeague Final Four, where they won the third place.
On July 2, 2021, Punter signed a two-year contract withPartizan of theABA League and theEuroCup.[18]
During the2022-23 season, Partizan was eliminated byReal Madrid in a tightEuroLeague playoffs series. The playoff series was marred by controversy as a major fight broke out in Game 2, involving players from both teams and resulting in the game being suspended.[19] Punter received a 2 game suspension for his role in the incident.[20] 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 theABA League championship trophy, after a 3–2 winning series over Crvena zvezda in the finals.[21] In the fifth decisive game, Punter scored 32 points, recorded 5 rebounds and 2 assists and was awarded theABA League Finals MVP.
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On June 29, 2023, after negotiations with bothPanathinaikos andFC Barcelona, Punter renewed his contract with Partizan for another two years.[22] Over the2023–24 season, Punter averaged 15 points, and a 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.[23] Despite having one more year left in his contract, Punter was released by Partizan in June 2024.[24]
On June 19, 2024, Punter signed a one-year contract withFC Barcelona ofLiga ACB andEuroLeague.[25] 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.[26]
On April 1, 2025,FC Barcelona announced a three year extension of Punter's contract, linking him to the Catalans until 2028. The announcement highlighted Punter's offensive impact for Barcelona, leading the team inpoints per game andperformance index rating in theEuroLeague regular season.[27]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 |
| 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 | 28 | 24 | 29.1 | .463 | .350 | .902 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.0 | 14.2 | |
| 2024–25 | Barcelona | 37 | 33 | 27.0 | .539 | .386 | .944 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .0 | 16.6 | 16.5 |
| Career | 161 | 117 | 26.0 | .507 | .391 | .907 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .1 | 15.0 | 13.5 | |
| 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 | 17 | 15 | 27.1 | .460 | .289 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 16.2 | 16.5 | |
| 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 |
| 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 | 40 | 34 | 27.9 | .445 | .394 | .770 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .2 | 17.7 | |
| 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 |
| 2024–25 |  Barcelona | ACB | 35 | 23.0 | .488 | .462 | .908 | 1.8 | 2.2 | .9 | .1 | 14.1 |
| 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 | 58 | 57 | 32.4 | .443 | .362 | .776 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 | .2 | 15.6 | |
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