Mathias Lessort opens about his early days in Martinique, revealing the good, the bad, and the struggles he had to face.
"Paradise. Home. Lovely," these are the three words Mathias Lessort described Martinique.
Why are we talking about Martinique before the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four final?
Well, the Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens center proudly brought it himself during the championship game press conference.
"I'm from a place 90% of you don't even know where it is," Lessort said, referencing an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, almost 7,000 kilometers away from France.
"This thing is bigger than me because I want to show people where I come from that stuff like this is possible. I was 15 when I moved to France, and I didn't even know what the EuroLeague was. So, I'm really blessed to be here," Lessort added.
That's how Lessort inspired BasketNews to make a story about his roots.
The 28-year-old began his story by recounting his early days in Martinique, emphasizing how lucky he feels now, looking back.
"Oh, it's very special, man," Lessort told BasketNews. "For me, it's a paradise. I'm really blessed and lucky to be [from] there. It's a place that a lot of people dream of going there for vacation. I was lucky enough to grow up there and to be from there. I'm really happy and lucky to represent Martinique."
As one could expect, leaving home at 15 years old and transitioning to a completely different culture is incredibly challenging. Yet, as Lessort noted, leaving Martinique is quite an ask in itself.
"It was very difficult. Obviously, it was something very special, but it was a big, big step for me to come out of where I'm from," Lessort said. "Like I said, I grew up in a paradise, but you also have these dark spots, and there's
