Tibor Pleiß

Tibor Pleiß (, alternative spelling Pleiss; born 2 November 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Rasta Vechta of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Standing , he plays at the center position. He is also a regular member of the German national team.

Early life, family and education

Pleiß was born in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, about 18 kilometers from Cologne. He was primarily raised in the Dellbrück neighborhood in Mülheim.

Professional athletic career Europe Pleiß played for RheinEnergie Köln In the 2013–14 season, he averaged 12.4 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 6.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game. He left Baskonia after two years.

On 11 August 2014, he signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club FC Barcelona. In the 2014–15 ACB season, he averaged 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the floor. In July 2015, he broke the contract with Barcelona, in order to sign in the NBA.

NBA Pleiß declared for the 2010 NBA draft. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets, who traded his rights to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks then sold his rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In February 2015, his draft rights were traded to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team trade.

On 14 July 2015, Pleiß signed a multi-year deal with the Utah Jazz. He made his NBA debut on 30 October in a 99–71 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, recording two points and one rebound in two minutes. On 2 January 2016, in a 92–87 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Pleiß set career-highs with six points, six rebounds and 17 minutes. During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Idaho Stampede, Utah's D-League affiliate. Five days later, he was waived by the 76ers.

Return to Europe On 12 September 2016, Pleiß signed with Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2016–17 season. On 28 July 2017 Pleiß signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club Valencia Basket. On 1 August 2018 Pleiß signed a two (1+1) year contract with the Turkish club Anadolu Efes S.K. On 12 July 2020 Pleiß renewed his contract with Efes for another three (2+1) seasons. On June 17, 2024, Pleiß parted ways with the team after six successful years. On August 8, 2024, he signed with Trapani Shark of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. On July 1, 2025, Panathinaikos announced that Pleiß was released from the team.

After 13 seasons with some of Europe’s top clubs and a brief stint in the NBA, he returned home on December 3, 2025 by signing with Rasta Vechta of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).

German national team Pleiß was a member of the junior national teams of Germany. He played for the German junior national teams at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and at both the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B and the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Pleiß is a member of the senior men's German national basketball team. He first played for the senior team at EuroBasket 2009 and saw action in three games. He was also in the German team that participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, where he was the starting center for Germany. He also played at the EuroBasket 2011 and the EuroBasket 2013.

Career statistics

NBA Regular season

EuroLeague

†Denotes season in which Pleiß won the EuroLeague* Led the league

EuroCup

Domestic leagues Year Team League