Pleiß joined RheinEnergie Köln (a year later they changed their name to Köln 99ers) of the German Bundesliga as a 17-year-old in 2006. He played with the club for three years, playing in the 2008 EuroCup. After the season ended, he joined the Brose Baskets where he played for three years.
On 24 June 2012, Pleiß left Germany and signed a four-year contract with the Spanish club Saski Baskonia, one of the top teams of the Liga ACB.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
On 14 July 2015, Pleiß signed a multi-year deal with the Utah Jazz.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Idaho Stampede, Utah's D-League affiliate.[11]
On 26 August 2016, Pleiß was traded, along with two 2017 second-round draft picks and cash considerations, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Kendall Marshall.[12] Five days later, he was waived by the 76ers.[13]
Return to Europe
On 12 September 2016, Pleiß signed with Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2016–17 season.[14]
On 28 July 2017 Pleiß signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club Valencia Basket.[15]
On 1 August 2018 Pleiß signed a two (1+1) year contract with the Turkish club Anadolu Efes S.K.[16] On 12 July 2020 Pleiß officially renewed his contract with Efes for another three (2+1) seasons.[17] On June 17, 2024, Pleiß parted ways with the team after six seasons.
^ ab"Eurobasket 2009 profile". Eurobasket2009.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)