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Aleksa Kovacevic (187-PG-2002) is a 23 year old 187cm point guard from Serbia playing his 8th season in Germany and playing his first with Pro A team EPG Baskets Koblenz averaging 10,1ppg, 2,6rpg, 3,0apg and 1,0spg. In Germany he played parts of 5 seasons in the easyCredit BBL for the Hakro Merlins and the Syntanics MBC Weissenfles totaling 66 games. In between in 2023-2024 he returned back to Serbia for a season with KK Sloga Societe Generale Kraljevo (Serbia-KLS) averaging 6.6ppg, 1.7rpg, 3.8apg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 12.5%, FT: 66.3%. He began his career in Germany with the Hakro Merlins organization playing with their Regionalliga and youth teams. He spoke to germanhoops.com about basketball.

Thanks Aleksa for talking to eurobasket.com. After parts of 5 seasons in the easyCredit BBL, is the Pro A now your long term reality or is the pro A just a stop before going back to the BBL?

My goal for sure is to get back to the BBL. I hope that it doesn´t take me long to get back. If I get back to the BBL, I want a bigger role. I want to prove myself in the Pro A. I don´t care if it takes me 1,2 or 3 years. I will make the best of it in the Pro A. I really want to get back because I´m a local player. I believe that it´s realistic.

Congrats on signing with the EPG Baskets. What was the main selling point? I mean you won the BBL cup last season and staying in the BBL would have been a logical choice?

Yes I did win the BBL cup and had a solid role, but I didn´t want to risk another year in the BBL with a smaller role. I was looking for a team where I could have more freedom and playing time and where I could show my full potential. I know that I can show way more than what I have shown until now

How much of a role did the ambitions of the EPG Baskets play in your decision and what do you appreciate most about their basketball culture?

I really liked the plans of the future for the EPG Baskets. I like in the direction that they want to go now with coach Stephan after a few difficult seasons. I really want to be a part of that. I think that it can be very special. For me it was a logical decision. Both sides clicked. I had great talks with Thomas Klein. I was there for 2 days and am really satisfied with everything

How did the talks go with head coach Stephan Dohrn? What did you appreciate most about his basketball philosophy?

I really like his basketball philosophy. He is modern and wants to play fast. Stucture and freedom is something I like very much. I really loved Tuomas Iisalo´s philosophy and looked for that and found it with coach Stephan. I think I play well when I have shooters and mobile big men around me. And I take pride in defense.

What are your personal goals with your game in the Pro A this season? I see you becoming a top 5 point guard. Do you see yourself becoming an impact point guard in the Pro A?

My personal goal is to have a great season with the EPG Baskets. I always want to have success. If we have success, then teams will look at us differently and the fans will be happy. Then I will be happy. I also want to prove myself. I´m a team guy and want to be a leader. I really want to be a top 5 point guard in the Pro A. I´m very confident to having a great year.

Let´s talk about your game. If you had to compare your game to a Eurolegaue player who would best fit the description?

I really like Milos Teodosic. He is from my hometown and I really look up to him. He retired and I´m sad. I loved watching him even if I´m Partizan fan. He is my role model. I hope I can get to his level one day.

Would you describe yourself as a pass first point guard? What are your biggest strengths as a player?

I think that I´m a pass first point guard. I like to play for others. I like to lead, organize and read the game. I take pride in playing defense.

Your also a very aggressive defender. How would you describe your defensive game now at age 23 and what kind of a defender do you still want to become?

I´m an aggressive defender and like to guard 1-1. I take pride in playing the defensive system and helping each other on the court. I want to be even more aggressive this season and have more steals.

Last season you played with the SYNTAINICS MBC Weissenfels (Germany-BBL) playing 37 games averaging 1,5ppg. What was so special about this team? Winning the cup was a serious BBL milestone beating the mighty FC Bayern Munich?

We had a great season with MBC. I didn´t have the biggest role, but I had a role. I think that I had an impact every time I stepped on the court at both ends of the court. It was a magnificent feeling winning the cup. It was really something I didn´t expect at the start of the season. The group of guys were amazing. Everyone played their role. The team chemistry was the best that it could be. Most of the guys were young and we wanted to prove ourselves.

You averaged 2 minutes less than in the 2022-2023 season with MBC. How disappointing was the season in terms of playing time? Did you expect more minutes?

I played more games though and had a bigger role. I´m happy how I survived. Mentally it was really hard on me. At some point, I was even ready to leave. There were some talks. But nothing happened. I was sad, but I was realistic. I feel like I could of played more and coach could of trusted me more, but I always respected coaches decision. I was having trouble with shooting, but then finally figured it out. But I did expect more minutes, but things happen and the roles fit the way they do.

Last season you had so many incredible veterans as teammates like Tyren Johnson, Akeem Vargas, John Bryant, Charles Callison and others. What player had the biggest impact on you?

That is a hard question to just pick one guy. I think that everyone of them was great. I talked to every guy. I learned so much from them about life. I learn the most about being a point guard from Charles. All of them are great and all of them like to talk. Tyren talks the most. He has had an incredible career. I liked his confidence and he is a very special guy. If I had to pick one then it would be Tyren. I hope that everyone could meet him. I was close with the other guys as well.

In the 2023-2024 season you went back to your homeland after many years in Germany and played with KK Sloga Societe Generale Kraljevo (Serbia-KLS) averaging 6.6ppg, 1.7rpg, 3.8apg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 12.5%, FT: 66.3%. What was it like returning back home? What positives did you get basketball wise from this season?

It was a great experience playing for Sloga. The league is a lot different. I had many ups and downs that season. Mentally it made me a lot stronger. The club wasn´t organized as well as clubs in Germany. I think that being in that kind of environment made me mentally tougher.

You played 5 years in the Hakro Merlins organization from 2017-2022. How enriching were these years for you? Did you have a mentor in your first 2 seasons?

I was very young when I arrived. Many things happened and I matured a lot. Tuomas Iisalo wasn´t only a mentor to me but to everyone else as well. I looked up to him and how he did things. I was very young then and didn´t notice it as much as I would now, but just seeing how he worked had a big impression on me. Another mentor was Bogdan Radosavljevic. He wasn´t that at first, but when he came 2 years later he was. He taught me so much on and off the court like life style. He taught me how to be a professional. Marko Stankovic was my mentor in my first 2 years. I was working with him a lot. He was the best mentor I could have in my first 2 seasons there. He is now in Bonn and I´m really happy for him. I think that he will have a great season. I wish him the best

You were teammates with 3 incredible point guards with Dwayne Russell, Trae Bell-Haynes and TJ Shorts. Please describe what important aspect of the game could you learn from each player?

I learned the pull up game from Dwayne, but TJ was the king of the pull up game. All of them played super fast and that helped me as well. Trae does it all and is a true professional. He really understood the game and played for others. Guarding them was great. I think that my great defensive game really grew being able to defend them in practice. I had great drill partners with them every day for 4-5 years. TJ´s mentally left the greatest mark on me. I love how he plays with speed and involves all. At first I thought that he was so arrogant, but It was just his mentality and confidence.

You played many years for NBA coach Tuomas Iisalo. If someone had told you in 2022 that he would be in the NBA 2,5 years later what would you have said?

I would of said that it would be to fast reaching the NBA, but I would of said that he would reach the NBA some day. How I saw that he takes care of every single detail, especially how every drill has to make sense, I knew the NBA would happen.

He had a great eye for point guards in the BBL. What was the most important thing that you learned from him?

He had a great eye for picking point guards with a great mentality. Everything basketball wise, I learned from him. I learned how to play against every coverage. I think that I could become a great coach just from having played for him.

From 2020-2022 you played only 17 BBL games. What was your fondest moment on the court there?

My biggest moment was during Covid playing in the bubble. I got minutes against FC Bayern which helped my confidence.

You were teammates with German player Konrad Wysocki. What was your fondest moment with him?

The nicest memory was his last game when we played Oldenburg. We managed to stay in the league. We won it. Then we watched the big screen and saw all of his highlights as a player. They showed the Olympics pics with Lebron James and Dirk Nowitzki. It was a nice farewell for me. I´m happy that I was a part of it.

You won the Gold at the 2022 U-20 European championships. What memories of that experience do you have? Is that your second biggest title after the 2025 BBL cup?

That is my second biggest title, even if I think that playing for your country is the biggest thing. I got to play with great players like Nikola Jovic and great coaches as well. There was a gap of 5 years where I didn´t play and then I became captain. It was such a big blessing. I was on top of the world. I was so happy I was on that 2022 team. The biggest accomplishment is just being a Serbian national player.

If you had 10 offensive possessions against TJ Shorts in 2025 in a 1-1 in practice, how many baskets would you make?

He used to woop my butt in practice. His mentality was crazy even though I was 16-17. When I scored on him in practice, he would get super angry and had to prove himself on the next possession and destroy me. But right now in 2025, I would say many times. I will give you the TJ answer. He would say that he would score 10 times on me.

Who is the toughest player that you ever battled that reached the NBA?

I want to give credit to Nikola Jovic. He is just such a great guy. He was younger than me in the youth national team and at the time he was just amazing. Even though I have played against so many other great guys, but it is Jovic.

Please name your 5 best teammates of all-time?

All my teammates are my best, but if I have to pick 5 it would be so difficult, because I could name 30 guys. I´m close with Spencer Reeves, Ivan Tkachenkov etc. I have been blessed to have played with so many great teammates. Jeremy Morgan was a great teammate. TJ Shorts as well. There are so many. Kris Clyburn. I can keep going.

Please list your personal NBA, German and Serbian Mount Rushmore of 4 best players of all-time?

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Michael Jordan Nikola Jokic

Dirk, Dennis Schroeder, Moritz Wagner, Konrad Wysocki (first real vet that I met, He played the Olympics. The perfect guy)

Nikola Jokic, Milos Teodosic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vladimir Divic

Who is your GOAT?

Lebron James

Thanks Aleksa for the chat.