Jānis Blūms (born 20 April 1982) is a Latvian former 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. Standing at , Blūms played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

positions. He also served as captain of the Latvia national team.

Professional career

Blūms started his career with Brocēni and later continued to play in their successor Skonto. In 2003, he signed with Polish club

Anwil Włocławek Anwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sissach (district), Sissach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Anwil is first mentioned in 1276. Geography Anwil has an are ...

, where he spent one season before returning to Latvia, where he joined BK Ventspils. After two years in Ventspils, Blūms joined Lithuanian powerhouse

BC Lietuvos rytas Basketball Club Rytas, commonly referred to as Rytas Vilnius, is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the top tier of Basketball in Lit ...

. In 2007, Blūms accepted an offer from the Italian side Eldo Napoli where he had a decent season. In 2008, Blūms signed a two-year contract with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. T ...

of Spain's

ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. He spent four successful seasons in Bilbao. Some of the highlights with Bilbao include making

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

finals,

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 ...

quarterfinals and Eurocup Final Four (twice). During his tenure with Bilbao, Blūms developed a reputation as a fierce competitor who is deadly from three-point range and can play lock-down defense. Often he would guard the best player of the opposing team. Due to his passion and effort, he became one of the city's fan favorites. After his experience in Basque Country, Jānis moved back to Lietuvos Rytas, which played

that season. In July 2013, Blūms signed a one-year contract with

BC Astana Astana Basketball Club (), commonly referred to as BC Astana, is a Kazakh professional basketball club that is based in Astana, Kazakhstan. Founded in 2011, it has competed in the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the VTB United League sinc ...

. On 1 October 2014, he signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos. On 5 April 2015, he won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

. In July 2015, Janis signed with the Italian team Sidigas Avellino, coming back to Italy after seven years. On 23 August 2017, he signed with the Spanish club Tecnyconta Zaragoza. On 28 July 2020, at the age of 38, he signed with

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Unahotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as ...

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA) but, by mutual agreement with the team, resigned after eight games played after the start of the season. On 30 August 2021, Blums announced his retirement from professional basketball.

Career statistics

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 6 , , 16.2 , , .413 , , .400 , , .706 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 6.0 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 9 , , 5 , , 19.8 , , .309 , , .316 , , .875 , , 1.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 27 , , 0 , , 11.6 , , .410 , , .424 , , .714 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 3.8 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 53 , , 11 , , 14.6 , , .384 , , .390 , , .744 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.8 , , 2.7

Trivia

Blūms has declared that his favorite players and idols growing were

Roberts Štelmahers Roberts Štelmahers (born November 19, 1974) is a Latvian professional basketball coach and former player who played the point guard position. He is the current head coach for Czarni Słupsk of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Štelmahers w ...

and Ainars Bagatskis. Coincidentally, he played with Štelmahers in the Latvian national basketball team and Lietuvos rytas (2006-07). In 2010-11, Blūms was notable for not missing a single practice or a game with Bilbao Basket. He reported to training camp by mid-August, and his season ended in mid-June as his team

finals.

National team career

Blūms was an iconic figure for the Latvia national team, serving as the team's captain and making 170 appearances for the senior squad.

International stats

References

External links

ACB.com ProfileEuroleague ProfileProfile: Janis Blums, Panathinaikos Athens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blums, Janis Living people 1982 births S.S. Basket Napoli players BC Astana players BC Rytas players Bilbao Basket players BK VEF Rīga players BK Ventspils players Latvian expatriate basketball people in Greece Latvian expatriate basketball people in Italy Greek Basket League players KK Włocławek players Latvian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Latvian expatriate basketball people in Poland Latvian expatriate basketball people in Spain Latvian men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Panathinaikos B.C. players People from Saldus Point guards S.S. Felice Scandone players Shooting guards