Real Madrid strengthened its frontcourt for years to come by signing center Vincent Poirier through the end of the 2023-24 season, the club announced Monday. Poirier (2.13 meters, 27 years old) will not be eligible to play in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, since the deadline to register new players in the competition has passed. He arrives from Philadelphia of the NBA, where Poirier appeared in 10 games this season.
Poirier returns to the EuroLeague after playing for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz from 2017 to 2019. In the second of those seasons, he averaged 11.9 points on 61.7% two-point shooting and 8.3 rebounds in 34 games. Poirier was the competition's top rebounder and ranked fourth in PIR (17.7 per game), which led to his selection as a member of the 2018-19 All-EuroLeague Second Team. Poirier started his career with Paris-Levallois (currently Boulogne Metropolitans 92) and played for another French team, Hyeres-Toulon, before joining Baskonia. He has also played for Boston in the NBA. Poirier is a member of the French national team, which he helped to win a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2019.