Leslee Smith returns for fifth Flyers season
Leslee Smith has put pen to paper on a new contract that will see him return for his fifth season with the Bristol Flyers.
The British Virgin Islands International, who first joined the club in 2016, becomes the eighth player to commit to Andreas Kapoulas’ 2024/25 roster.
Smith made 55 appearances for the Flyers between 2016-18, where he averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game. He enjoyed brief spells with Sheffield Sharks and Plymouth Raiders between 2018-20, before returning to the Flyers in 2022, following the COVID lockdown.
Last season, Smith posted an average of 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game.
On returning for his fifth Flyers season, Smith said: "It wasn’t a hard decision to come back at all. I really like Bristol and it’s like a second home to me.
"It’s crazy to think that this will be my fifth season with the club. To see how far the programme has come since my first season in Bristol is a credit to Coach Kapoulas and the team behind the team at Bristol Sport. I’m excited to see what’s to come in the next few years.
"I still think I have a lot of basketball left in me. I felt really good at the end of last season so I’m looking forward to continue building on that. Even though I’m a bit older now, I don’t feel like I’m slowing down, so I just want to keep on playing.
"Coach and I had a talk about last season and he expects me to continue being myself and continue what I’m doing. He wants me to be a veteran leader on the floor and continuing to guide the younger players in the right direction on and off the court.
"I’ve got a lot of love for the Flyers Family. They never let us down whenever we need that extra boost and I look forward to seeing them again this season." Flyers Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas said:
"Leslee was one of our most consistent players last season and is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
"He brings veteran leadership to our team and we are excited to have him at the club for a fifth season.
"He has been with our club for some of our best seasons in our top-flight history and he knows how far we have come as a programme. "This is our 20th season anniversary and we want to go one step further this time around."