Gintaras Einikis (born September 30, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and current

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He stands at 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and is a former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the senior Lithuanian national team. Einikis is the only player from the Lithuanian national team to have won all three consecutive

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

s at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and

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Professional career

In 1987, the then 18-year-old Einikis, arrived at Žalgiris, to replace his injured teammate,

Arvydas Sabonis Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born 19 December 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Sabonis won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ...

. Einikis established himself as a strong and aggressive defender, an excellent center, and a surprisingly accurate three-point shooter. When Sabonis left Žalgiris, Einikis continued his career, as a starter. In 1995, Einikis joined

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League, the highest level of Russian basketball. In early 2022, after ...

. After dominating with Avtodor, Einikis then moved to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. After 2 moderate seasons with CSKA, he moved to Idea-Slask, where he averaged 9 points per game, and 4.4 rebounds per game, in 22 minutes per game of

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

action. After a tumultuous first half of the season, he left Śląsk and signed with Greek side

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

to finish the season. He then moved back to Zalgiris, where he contributed more to the team. During the last years of his career, his averages fell drastically; however, he still helped

Lietuvos Rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is ...

to win the

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

( EuroCup) championship in 2005. He retired after the 2005–06 season. In 2009, he returned to playing professional basketball, and played for Naglis-Adakris. After the 2009–10 season, he retired for a second time.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

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Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

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Unicaja Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the ...

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Coaching career

On February 10, 2016, it was announced that Einkis had become an assistant

for

Controversies

In 2008, Einikis participated in altercation with a night club's staff, yelling insults, threatening physical harm and refusing to leave the club. He and his friend were fined with 3,000 Litas. After the incident, Einikis was spotted leaving the club in his car

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a Luxury car, mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Volkswagen since 2002. The vehicle is named after the nomadic Tuareg people, inhabitants of the Sahara desert, Saharan interior in North A ...

. Because he had lost his license a year ago after his involvement in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

accident, he was fined with an additional 2,500 Litas. During the accident, it was speculated that he was on cocaine. The police discovered cocaine powder in his car. In 2011, Einikis, heavily intoxicated, with 5.11

per mil The phrase per mille () indicates parts per thousand. The associated symbol is , similar to a per cent sign but with an extra zero in the divisor. Major dictionaries do not agree on the spelling, giving other options of per mil, per mill, p ...

blood-alcohol concentration, went to his friend's house and threatened to kill her by setting her house on fire. He was later arrested and charged with threats of arson and assault. He married his longtime friend Jurgita in July 2012. Later that month, however, he, while under the influence of alcohol, physically assaulted his wife.

Awards and achievements

Pro clubs

*6× Lithuanian Champion: (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003) **

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

Champion: (1991) **2×

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n Champion: (1992, 1993) **3× Lithuanian League (LKL) Champion: (1994, 1995, 2003) *2× Lithuanian League MVP: (1994, 1995) *2× Lithuanian League Finals MVP: (1994, 1995) *

FIBA EuroStar FIBA EuroStars was an annual All-Star Game showcase of the sport of European professional club basketball. It was organized by FIBA Europe. Commonly considered to be the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars Game featu ...

: (1997) * Russian League Champion: (2000) * Polish League Champion: (2004) *

( EuroCup) Champion: (2005) * FIBA EuroCup All-Star (FIBA EuroChallenge All-Star): (2006) *

Czech League Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surname) ...

Champion: (2006)

Lithuanian senior national team

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

: *

EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to e ...

: *

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

: *

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einikis, Gintaras 1969 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Arka Gdynia (basketball) players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics BC Avtodor players BC Rytas players BC Žalgiris players Centers (basketball) Liga ACB players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Poland Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Spain Lithuanian basketball coaches Lithuanian men's basketball players Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for Lithuania Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow players Power forwards Soviet basketball coaches Soviet men's basketball players Sportspeople from Kretinga Basketball players from Klaipėda County