KK Atletas ( lt, Kauno rajono Krepšinio Klubas Atletas) is a professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
club that is based in
Kaunas district,
Lithuania. Currently the team plays in the
National Basketball League, in the past Atletas participated in the
LKL and the
Baltic League
The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinav ...
, before dissolving in 2007 and becoming BC Aisčiai-Atletas. In 2009, the team merged with BC Kaunas Triobet and played with the names of Kaunas, Baltai and LSU-Baltai. In 2013 club was renamed again to LSU-Atletas, which was merged with the NKL champions of the same name. Atletas are multiple time LKL finalists, and were once considered to be one of the strongest teams in Lithuania.
The
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...
center
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas
Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( lt, link=no, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Nation ...
represented Atletas at the very beginning of his career. Lithuanian basketball star
Saulius Štombergas
Saulius Štombergas (born December 14, 1973) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be ...
was also a key player of the team back then.
Donatas Motiejūnas
Donatas Motiejūnas (; born September 20, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for AS Monaco Basket of LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 20th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before going o ...
also played for Atletas (at the time called Aisčiai) during the beginning of his career.
Latest seasons
Honours
Domestic competitions
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Lithuanian SSR Championship
: Winners (5): 1968, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1990
Notable former players
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Rimas Kurtinaitis
Rimas Kurtinaitis (born May 15, 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, and a retired professional basketball player, who was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams during his playing career. He won a ...
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Tomas Pačėsas
Tomas Pačėsas (born November 11, 1971) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, basketball coach, businessman, and politician.
Playing career Club career
Pačėsas was the Polish League MVP, in 2004.
Lithuanian senior national ...
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Gvidonas Markevičius
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Darius Dimavičius
Darius Dimavičius (born April 8, 1968) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, who won the bronze medal with the Lithuania national basketball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona ( , , ) is a c ...
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Rytis Vaišvila
Rytis Vaišvila (born May 23, 1971) is a retired Lithuanian basketball player and current coach. He currently serves as head coach of BC Sūduva.
National team career
Vaišvila was a member of the Lithuanian national team which won bronze med ...
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Darius Sirtautas
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Saulius Štombergas
Saulius Štombergas (born December 14, 1973) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be ...
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Tomas Masiulis
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Virginijus Praškevičius
Virginijus Praškevičius (born 4 March 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 2.06 m (6'9") tall, he played at the power forward and center positions.
Professional career
Praškevičius started playing wit ...
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Žydrūnas Ilgauskas
Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( lt, link=no, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Nation ...
*
Donatas Motiejūnas
Donatas Motiejūnas (; born September 20, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for AS Monaco Basket of LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 20th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before going o ...
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Artūras Milaknis
Artūras Milaknis (born 16 June 1986) is a Lithuanian professional basketball for Tofaş of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Standing at , he primarily plays as a shooting guard position.
Early career
A native of Kaunas, Milaknis began his career i ...
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Povilas Butkevičius
Povilas Butkevičius (born 26 September 1987) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player.
Professional career
From 2004-2005, till 2011-2012, he was part of Lithuanian powerhouse Žalgiris Kaunas.
On 17 August 2010 he was loaned to ...
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Šarūnas Vasiliauskas
Šarūnas Vasiliauskas (born 27 March 1989) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Scarborough Shooting Stars of the CEBL. He plays as point guard.
Professional career
On 8 August 2016, Vasiliauskas signed with Joventut Badalona. On ...
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Siim-Sander Vene
Siim-Sander Vene (born 12 November 1990) is an Estonian professional basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Basketball Champions League. Standing at 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he plays both the small ...
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Jonas Mačiulis
Jonas Mačiulis (born 10 February 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he mainly plays at the small forward position. As a member of the senior Lithuanian national team, he earned an All-EuroBasket Team ...
External links
Aisciai
Sport in Kaunas
1962 establishments in Lithuania
Basketball teams established in 1962
{{Lithuania-sport-stub