ALBA Berlin has announced the signing of guard Matt Thomas, who has penned a one-year contract on Monday. Thomas (1.96 meters, 28 years old) made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut during the 2022-23 campaign after joining Panathinaikos Athens in late January, averaging 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and a 6.7 PIR across 10 appearances. Thomas is now ready to embark on his first full season in the competition with the club from the German capital.
ALBA picks up sharpshooter Matt Thomas
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Downing ALBA in EuroCup Finals
This will be fourth campaign on European soil for the American shooting guard. Thomas's professional career began with Spanish side Obradoiro in the 2017-18 season, before he joined Valencia Basket. The sharpshooter impressed during his season playing at La Fonteta in 2018-19, posting 12.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a 10.9 PIR as Valencia secured its fourth-ever BKT EuroCup title. He particularly shined in the EuroCup Finals in which the team on the opposite side was - ALBA Berlin.
Thomas regularly got the Spanish club's supporters off their seats with his performances, scoring double digits in seven of Valencia's 10 regular-season contests before scoring 9 points or more in all six of its Top 16 fixtures. In the playoffs, Thomas had 15 points in Game 1 of the quarterfinals against Rytas Vilnius, then he posted 13 and 15 points, respectively, in Games 1 and 2 of the semifinals against UNICS Kazan.
In the best-of-three EuroCup Finals against ALBA, he had 16 points in Game 1 as Valencia defended its home court to take a 1-0 lead in the series. In the closeout Game 3 back at La Fonteta, following a win by ALBA in Berlin in Game 2, Thomas erupted for 19 points – his highest tally in the playoffs – in a comfortable Valencia win.
His journey post-Valencia
Following his EuroCup-winning campaign with Valencia, Thomas returned to North America after signing with the Toronto Raptors in the NBA.
He spent the 2019-20 season with Toronto and remained with the team during the bulk of the following year, but in March 2021 he was traded to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz opted to wave Thomas the following summer, but in September 2021 he signed for the Chicago Bulls, where he played during the 2021-22 season.
Then, having been without a team since the start of the campaign, Thomas penned a deal with Panathinaikos in January 2023 until the end of the 2022-23 season. Now, he joins ALBA for the 2023-24 campaign.