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Basketball Club Rytas, commonly referred to as Rytas Vilnius, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
club based in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, Lithuania. The club competes in the
Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...
(LKL), the top tier of Lithuanian basketball, and internationally in the
Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...
(BCL) since 2020. The club plays its home matches in the 2,741-capacity
Active Vilnius Arena The Active Vilnius Arena is a 2,741-seat basketball arena in Vilnius, Lithuania, built next to Twinsbet Arena that is used mostly as a home venue of Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League and Kibirkštis Vilnius of the Lithuanian ...
, with select domestic and all international matches played at the 10,000-capacity Twinsbet Arena. Nicknamed ''juodai baltai raudoni'' (The Black White Reds), Rytas are one of the most successful basketball clubs in Lithuania. Domestically, the club has won 7 league titles, 3 LKF Cups and 2 King Mindaugas Cups. Internationally, Rytas have won 2 EuroCup titles and 3
Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus Belarus, officially the Rep ...
(BBL) titles. The club's affiliate teams, Rytas-2 and Rytas-MRU, are used for development of young players and compete in the National Basketball League (NKL) and the Regional Basketball League (RKL), respectively. Notable members of the club include
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the National ...
,
Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. Durin ...
,
Ramūnas Šiškauskas Ramūnas Šiškauskas (, born September 10, 1978) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. Listed at tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a pl ...
,
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
,
Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...
,
Martynas Gecevičius Martynas Gecevičius (born 16 May 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Telšiai of the National Basketball League (NKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career Gecevičius deb ...
,
Renaldas Seibutis Renaldas Seibutis (born July 23, 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Lithuanian national team internationally. Professional career Europe In the 2010–11 season, Seibutis played for Olin Ed ...
,
Simas Jasaitis Simas Jasaitis (born 26 March 1982) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team. Professional career Jasaitis' first team in the LKL was Sakalai during the 2000-2001 season. In t ...
,
Robertas Javtokas Robertas Javtokas (born March 20, 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He most recently served as sports director of Žalgiris Kaunas. Standing at , he played the center position. He has been a member of th ...
,
Darius Songaila Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He play ...
,
Marijonas Petravičius Marijonas Petravičius (born October 24, 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. He was a member of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania national team. He mainly played the center (basketball), center posi ...
,
Rimantas Kaukėnas Rimantas "Rimas" Kaukėnas (born 11 April 1977) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player who is the president of Wolves Twinsbet of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup. His long career has taken hi ...
,
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
,
Gintaras Einikis Gintaras Einikis (born September 30, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player and current basketball coach, coach. He stands at 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and is a former Center (basketball), center for the senior Lithuania ...
,
Deividas Sirvydis Deividas Sirvydis (born 10 June 2000) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. Sirvydis was selected 37th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019 NBA dr ...
,
Rokas Giedraitis Rokas Giedraitis (born August 16, 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for KK Crvena zvezda, Crvena zvezda of the Serbian Basketball League of Serbia, KLS, the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He primarily plays at the small forward ...
,
Artūras Gudaitis Artūras Gudaitis (born 19 June 1993) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League. Standing at , he plays at the center position. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 47th ...
,
Ąžuolas Tubelis Ąžuolas Tubelis (born 22 March 2002) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball, A ...
.


History


Origins (1963–1997)

In 1963, the first basketball team from Vilnius, called Žalgiris, was formed. The following year it changed its name to Plastikas. In that same year, 1964, Plastikas players joined a new team, called Statyba. This name was used for over 30 years.
Jonas Kazlauskas Jonas Kazlauskas (born 21 November 1954) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Playing career Kazlausk ...
, Rimas Girskis, and then-head coach Rimantas Endrijaitis led Statyba to third place in the 1979 Soviet Union Championship. Three years later,
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the National ...
joined the team and became its leader. In 1987,
Artūras Karnišovas Artūras Karnišovas (born April 27, 1971) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He is the current executive vice president of basketball operations of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...
joined the team at the age of 16. In 1994, Statyba won bronze medals in their first LKL season. In 1995, ''
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 ...
'' began sponsoring Sūduva Marijampolė, a basketball club from
Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...
, Lithuania. The partnership lasted for two seasons, during which the team was known as Lietuvos rytas Marijampolė and played in the second-tier Lithuanian league, the LKAL. A notable player for the team was teenager
Darius Songaila Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He play ...
. However, after the 1996–97 season the partnership ended. At the same time, Statyba was faced with financial difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The team needed new investors and in 1997 ''Lietuvos rytas'' bought the club. However, the new owners did not want to continue the team's history and renamed it Statyba-Lietuvos rytas, then just Lietuvos rytas. The newspaper's investment helped the club to establish itself as one of the two best in Lithuania, the other being Žalgiris from the country's second-largest city
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
.


First successes (1997–2004)

During its first season, BC Rytas won a bronze medal in the LKL. In the following season, Rytas won LKL silver, losing to reigning
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 ...
champions Žalgiris Kaunas. The team also took second place in 1997
William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...
. In 2000,
Ramūnas Šiškauskas Ramūnas Šiškauskas (, born September 10, 1978) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. Listed at tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a pl ...
,
Andrius Giedraitis Andrius Giedraitis (born July 23, 1973) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and coach. Professional career Giedraitis started his career in the LPA Vilnius team, and he later moved to BC Sakalai. In 1998, he became a member o ...
and Eric Elliott, combined with
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
and
Robertas Javtokas Robertas Javtokas (born March 20, 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He most recently served as sports director of Žalgiris Kaunas. Standing at , he played the center position. He has been a member of th ...
, managed to win LKL. The team was coached by
Šarūnas Sakalauskas Šarūnas Sakalauskas (September 24, 1960 in Kaunas) is a former Lithuanian basketball coach. He was the coach of Sakalai, Lietuvos rytas Vilnius and Eisbären Bremerhaven. During the 2005–06 season he was named Coach of the Year in the German ...
. It was the first time in the history of the Lithuanian Basketball League that Žalgiris Kaunas did not win the LKL title. Also, Rytas reached the
Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...
semifinal, where they met last season's EuroLeague runner-up Kinder. After a home win of 70–60, Lietuvos rytas lost in Italy 83–71, with Šiškauskas missing a three-pointer which would have won the two-game series for his team. The next season, due to the split between the
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
and ULEB, Rytas played in the
FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, o ...
, making it to the quarterfinals, but losing to
Anadolu Efes S.K. Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 Euroleagu ...
The team won third place in the NEBL. In the LKL finals, Žalgiris Kaunas defeated Lietuvos rytas in a tough five-game series 3–2. In 2002, Lietuvos rytas won the LKL again, this time in a seven-game final series with the last game decided in overtime. The team played without center Robertas Javtokas, who was seriously injured in a motorbike crash. Lietuvos rytas also won the NEBL title in 2002, becoming the last team to win the tournament. The team held first place in the group stage of the Saporta Cup but lost in the quarterfinals to
Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...
. Over the next two seasons, Lietuvos rytas lost in the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas. They had more success in Europe, though, finishing in second place in the FIBA Champions Cup regional stage (though losing to Hemofarm Vršac in the final stage). The team also debuted in the ULEB Cup, getting to the quarterfinals but losing to Hapoel Jerusalem.


Success in the ULEB Cup and Euroleague (2004–2008)


2004–05: ULEB Cup champions

After not winning any titles in the past two seasons, Lietuvos rytas recruited
Vlade Đurović Vlade Đurović ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Ђуровић; born 16 May 1948) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Born in 1948 to Bosnian Serb parents Danilo Đurović from Sokolac and Mileva Cerović from Rogatica� ...
as a new coach. Midway through the season, Frederick House, the team leader, suffered a season-ending injury. Đurović later resigned and was replaced by
Tomo Mahorič Tomo Mahorič (born April 28, 1965) is a Slovenian basketball coach. He was a coach of Krško, Slovan, Union Olimpija, Lietuvos rytas, BC Kyiv, Vanoli Cremona Guerino Vanoli Basket, also known as Vanoli Cremona, is a professional basketball te ...
.
Tyrone Nesby Tyrone Lamont Nesby (born January 31, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. During his pro club career, he spent four seasons playing in the NBA. He also played professionally in Europe. High school career Nesby ...
,
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 Robertas Javtokas,
Simas Jasaitis Simas Jasaitis (born 26 March 1982) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team. Professional career Jasaitis' first team in the LKL was Sakalai during the 2000-2001 season. In t ...
and Tomas Delininkaitis led the team to victory in the 2005 ULEB Cup, beating Pamesa Valencia in the semifinals and Makedonikos in the final. This victory granted them a place in the EuroLeague, the continent's primary basketball club tournament. Lietuvos rytas won second place in both the LKL and BBL finals, losing to Žalgiris Kaunas.


2005–06: EuroLeague debut

Before the 2005–06 season, Neven Spahija became the head coach of the team. After losing their first two matches, Lietuvos rytas matched the EuroLeague record by winning seven consecutive EuroLeague fixtures, defeating as
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, champions
Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...
(twice) and Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Those wins allowed Rytas to advance to the Top 16 phase, where they won three times out of six, beating Tau Ceramica Vitoria once and
Brose Baskets Bamberg Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...
twice. However, Lietuvos rytas was eliminated from that year's EuroLeague. After winning the Baltic Basketball League title, Lietuvos rytas defeated Žalgiris Kaunas 4–0. Despite winning the Lithuanian title, Lietuvos rytas did not acquire the country's spot for
2006–07 EuroLeague The 2006–07 Euroleague was the 7th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 50th season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ov ...
that was reserved for Žalgiris Kaunas.


2006–07: ULEB Cup finalists

Although the coach and three leading players Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Fred House had left the team during the interseason, the 2006–07 ULEB Cup season was rather successful for Lietuvos rytas. Two coaches were replaced during the season: Sharon Drucker from
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
was replaced by Slovenian
Zmago Sagadin Zmago Sagadin (; born 1 November 1952) is a Slovenian basketball coach. He is widely considered as the most successful Slovenian coach with 25 championship titles both on a national and international level, recognized 9 times as Slovenian Top Coa ...
and the latter by his assistant coach Aleksandar Trifunović from
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
player
Kareem Rush Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Rush's younger brother, Brandon, last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, while older brother JaRon played college basketball for UCLA. College ...
arrived to lead the team to the ULEB Cup final where
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
defeated Lietuvos rytas. However, Real Madrid's victory at the ACB semifinals, and of one of four spots reserved for Spain, allowed Lietuvos rytas to take part in the
2007–08 EuroLeague The 2007–08 Euroleague was the 8th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 51st season of the premier competition for European men's clubs o ...
as the ULEB Cup finalist. On 27 April 2007, Lietuvos rytas won their second consecutive BBL title; Kareem Rush was named the Final Four
MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...
. The LKL finals and LKF Cup finals were both unsuccessful, though, as Žalgiris Kaunas won both tournaments.


2007–08: Back to EuroLeague

Lietuvos rytas had a successful season during 2007–08 EuroLeague, defeating
Unicaja Málaga 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 ...
and Armani Jeans Milano, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the future EuroLeague finalist. Their 11–3 record was the team's best regular season performance ever, and the best by a Lithuanian team in Euroleague at the time. However, the team was not as successful in the Top 16 and with record of 2–4 did not advance to the playoffs. Lietuvos rytas were the runner-up in the Lithuanian Basketball League, the Baltic Basketball League and the Lithuanian Cup, losing each time to Žalgiris Kaunas.


Rimas Kurtinaitis era (2008–2010)

During the 2008–09 season, Lietuvos rytas, affected by the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, had a significantly lower budget and put a greater emphasis on prospective local players. Lietuvos rytas won the first Baltic Basketball Presidents Cup during this season. On 21 October 2008, Lietuvos rytas lost against the NBA
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
at
Oracle Arena An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
126–106. Head coach
Antanas Sireika Antanas Sireika (born May 11, 1956
resigned and was replaced by
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
, a former Lietuvos rytas player, for the second half of the season. Rytas successfully advanced to the Final 8. Chuck Eidson was named the regular season MVP. After victories against Benetton Treviso and Hemofarm Vršac, Rytas was considered an underdog against
BC Khimki BC Khimki () is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Khimki, Moscow Oblast. The club's senior men's first team participates in the Russian Basketball Super League 1. The club's full official name is BC Khimki Moscow Region. Khim ...
of Russia in the final. However, the performances of
Steponas Babrauskas Steponas Babrauskas (born June 20, 1984) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as assistant coach at CBet Jonava. Professional career Babrauskas was a runner-up in the Lithuanian Basketball League ...
and
Marijonas Petravičius Marijonas Petravičius (born October 24, 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. He was a member of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania national team. He mainly played the center (basketball), center posi ...
led the team to victory. Rytas became the first team to reclaim the EuroCup title; Marijonas Petravičius was selected the Final 8 MVP. Lietuvos rytas was also successful in matches against arch rival Žalgiris Kaunas. It won the 2009
LKF Cup The LKF Cup was an annual national domestic cup competition for Lithuanian professional basketball teams. It was organised by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (Lietuvos Krepšinio Federacija - LKF). The competition's full name was Lietuvos Kre ...
. Lietuvois rytas also won the
Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus Belarus, officially the Rep ...
final game over Žalgiris Kaunas, 97–74. Chuck Eidson scored 41 points, and he was the MVP for the season. It was the third BBL title for the club. Lietuvos rytas also the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) during this season as well, the fourth time Lietuvos rytas became the LKL champion. After losing Petravičius, Lukauskis and Eidson, Lietuvos rytas also participated in the
2009 Gomelsky Cup 2009 Gomelsky Cup tournament was held from October 2 till October 3, 2009. Four European teams competed against each other for the Gomelsky Cup title. Participants * PBC CSKA Moscow, CSKA Moscow – host team * Panathinaikos Athens – E ...
. Lietuvos rytas was not as successful in the
2009–10 EuroLeague The 2009–10 Euroleague was the 10th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is borde ...
—they did not advance to the Top 16. Lietuvos rytas won the LKL trophy, beating Žalgiris Kaunas 4–3. It was the second consecutive LKL title for the Vilnius team. After the conclusion of the season, head coach
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
left the club to be replaced by
Dražen Anzulović Dražen Anzulović (born 7 May 1967) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for BC Samara of the VTB United League. Playing career Anzulović spent most of his playing career in Cibona. ...
.


Big dreams, small achievements (2010–2014)


2010–11: Fourth season in the Euroleague

Rytas had huge expectations for the upcoming season. However, after a very poor pre-season and the start of the season, where Rytas lost nearly every game, and also losing in the BBL Cup to Tartu Rock, Dražen Anzulović was fired and replaced by the team's former coach Aleksandar Trifunović, just before the start of the
2010–11 EuroLeague The 2010–11 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 11th season of the modern era of professional Euroleague Basketball, and the first under the title sponsorship of Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Eu ...
season. Rytas started the EuroLeague with a 0-4 record, before shocking the basketball community by signing
Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. Durin ...
to a contract. Rytas recovered, and went on to qualify for the EuroLeague Top-16 with a 4-6 record, including a win over defending champions
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 ...
. Jasikevičius left Rytas in December, but Rytas signed the returning
Simas Jasaitis Simas Jasaitis (born 26 March 1982) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team. Professional career Jasaitis' first team in the LKL was Sakalai during the 2000-2001 season. In t ...
just before the Top-16. Playing in the
Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC. * On ...
in EuroLeague, Lietuvos rytas defeated Caja Laboral at Vitoria,
Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of ...
in Athens and
Unicaja Málaga 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 ...
at home - with a 3-2 record, Rytas faced Caja Laboral with a playoff spot in the EuroLeague on the line in Vilnius. Team leader
Khalid El-Amin Khalid El-Amin (born April 25, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a member of the 1999 University of Connecticut men's basketball team that won the NCAA championship. He is originally from Minnesota, where he play ...
went out with an injury during the game - in front of a sellout crowd in the Siemens Arena, Caja Laboral finished off Rytas and qualified to the EuroLeague playoffs - Rytas losing out on the spot just by points differential to Caja Laboral - a heartbreaking end for Rytas. Rytas lost the LKF Cup final to Žalgiris Kaunas. Rytas also debuted in the
VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...
during the season - finishing just a win away from the Final Four competition. In the
Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus Belarus, officially the Rep ...
, however, Rytas shockingly lost in the semifinals at the Baltic Basketball League, to VEF Rīga and finished in third place for the first time in club history with a win over
BK Ventspils BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. History BK Ventspils was founded in 1994. In first years Ventspils proved themselves as relevant p ...
. The loss resulted in head coach Trifunović was fired and replaced by assistant coach
Darius Maskoliūnas Darius Maskoliūnas (born 6 January 1971) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, former player, and politician. Early life Maskoliūnas graduated from the first secondary school, in Jonava. Professional career During his pro club play ...
- a long-time former Žalgiris player and coach. The team's game improved, but Rytas still lost the LKL finals to Žalgiris - Žalgiris won the LKL finals over Rytas 4-1.


2011–12: EuroCup Final Four

After dismissing Milko Bjelica, Kenan Bajramović, D. J. Strawberry (replacement for the injured El-Amin),
Cemal Nalga Cemal Nalga (born 16 September 1987) is a Turkish professional basketball player for Balıkesir Büyükşehir Belediyespor of the Turkish Basketball First League(TBL). He plays the center position. Jersey scandal Nalga is also known for a ma ...
and losing team leader
Martynas Gecevičius Martynas Gecevičius (born 16 May 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Telšiai of the National Basketball League (NKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career Gecevičius deb ...
, Lietuvos rytas replaced eight players. In EuroLeague's qualification tournament, which was organized in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, Lietuvos rytas won their first two matches against Budućnost Podgorica and
Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball sports club, club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the ABA League JTD, Adriatic Basketba ...
, but lost the final game against
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
. As a result, Lietuvos rytas had to play at the second-tier European competition, EuroCup. The team, led by
Renaldas Seibutis Renaldas Seibutis (born July 23, 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Lithuanian national team internationally. Professional career Europe In the 2010–11 season, Seibutis played for Olin Ed ...
,
Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...
and Tyrese Rice, lost to Valencia Basket 80–70 in the semifinals. Rytas finished third after a 71–62 win against Spartak St. Petersburg. The team finished third in the regular season round of the
VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...
. They defeated
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...
and unexpectedly Khimki, the reigning EuroCup and VTB League champions, eventually finishing in third place. Despite two third places in international competitions, Rytas lost both the BBL finals, and the LKL final series to Žalgiris Kaunas, with Žalgiris winning the LKL finals 3–0. Following the conclusion of the season, Tyrese Rice, Lawrence Roberts,
Aleksandar Rašić Aleksandar Rašić (; born March 16, 1984) is a Serbian former professional basketball player who is currently the team manager for Mega Basket of the Serbian League (KLS) and the ABA League. He represented the Serbia national basketball team int ...
and Jonas Valančiūnas left the team.


2012–13

Players like
Nemanja Nedović Nemanja Nedović ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Недовић; ; born 16 June 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He also represented the senior Serbian national basketball team in ...
were expected to be the future of the team. However, the season was not very successful. Rytas lost the Lithuanian Supercup to Žalgiris, on aggregrate, with Žalgiris winning 89-71 at home, and the rematch finishing with a 87-87 tie. After struggling in the opening months, Lietuvos rytas fired coach
Aleksandar Džikić Aleksandar Džikić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Џикић; born 23 March 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and current head coach of Georgia men's national basketball team. Coaching career Early career KK Partizan youth syst ...
, promoting Darius Maskoliūnas as head coach. Though the game had improved, thanks to Leon Radošević, Renaldas Seibutis and Nemanja Nedović, the EuroLeague season was finished with a 2–8 record. The team did not fare much better in the VTB United League. After Leon Radošević and Predrag Samardžiski were released, Rytas signed
Milt Palacio Milton Sigmund Palacio (born February 7, 1978) is a Belizean American professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Palacio, a Belizean citizen, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by Belizean parents. College career P ...
,
Tomislav Zubčić Tomislav Zubčić (born 17 January 1990) is a Croatian professional basketball player currently playing for Napoli Basket (2016), Napoli Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A. Standing at , he plays both the Power forward (basketball), power forward ...
and
Patrick O'Bryant Patrick Fitzgerald O'Bryant (born June 20, 1986) is an American-Central African former professional basketball player. The , center was selected out of Bradley University by the Golden State Warriors with the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NBA dr ...
. The rookies were not much help, however, and Rytas still missed the VTB playoffs, with Donetsk defeating Rytas in the deciding game. Coach Maskoliūnas was fired and replaced by
Dirk Bauermann Dirk Bauermann (born 10 December 1957) is a German professional basketball coach. Playing career Bauermann played sports club, club basketball in the German senior club of BBC Krefeld, from 1975 to 1981. Club coaching career Bauermann was an ass ...
. Rytas began to play much better, and in April scored an away win over Žalgiris Kaunas—the first in almost two years. Rytas made the LKL finals for the 15th time in a row. However, Žalgiris Kaunas easily swept Lietuvos rytas 4–0 in the final.


2013–14: Downfall of Lietuvos rytas

Due to the unsuccessful past season, Rytas almost completely rebuilt the team: eight players left after the team lost the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas. Former team leader
Martynas Gecevičius Martynas Gecevičius (born 16 May 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Telšiai of the National Basketball League (NKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career Gecevičius deb ...
was returned after two-season break, along with Rytas signing solid players like
Milenko Tepić Milenko Tepić (; born February 27, 1987) is a Serbian 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 t ...
,
Andreas Glyniadakis Andreas Glyniadakis (alternate spelling: Gliniadakis, Greek: Ανδρέας Γλυνιαδάκης; born 26 August 1981) is a former Greek professional basketball player, at a height of tall. During his professional club career that started in ...
(both were released during the season for playing below expectations),
Stevan Jelovac Stevan Jelovac (; 8 July 19895 December 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player. Professional career Jelovac started his senior career with Vizura. On 25 August 2009, he signed with Mega Vizura. On 7 April 2010, he left Mega and si ...
, Juan Palacios (who quickly became the team leader for Rytas), Zabian Dowdell, and also signing the LKL MVP of the 2012-2013 season, Gediminas Orelik, to a long term contract. The biggest signings of the off-season became point guard
Omar Cook Omar-Sharif Cook (; born January 28, 1982) is an American-Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He represente ...
- one of the most respected and best point guards of the EuroLeague alongside
Darius Songaila Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He play ...
. Seibutis, team leader, remained with the team. Lietuvos rytas had very high expectation for the season, and Rytas started successfully — Rytas dominated the 2013–14 Euroleague Qualifying rounds, held at Vilnius, with wins over VEF Rīga,
EWE Baskets Oldenburg Baskets Oldenburg, for sponsorship reasons EWE Baskets Oldenburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Oldenburg, Germany. The club plays in the Bundesliga. The club's name is derived from the team's main sponsor EWE AG ...
and
Telenet Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in t ...
and qualified for the EuroLeague. In a group that also featured
Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...
, Laboral Kutxa, Lokomotiv Kuban,
Crvena Zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
, Rytas started the EuroLeague season with a big win over multiple time champions
Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of ...
. However, this would prove to be the peak of Rytas for the season, as Maccabi, Laboral Kutxa, Lokomotiv, Zvezda all beat Rytas, with even Panathinaikos winning the rematch in Athens - Rytas finished with a disastrous 1-9 record, and absolute last place in the EuroLeague. Coach Bauermann was fired with a 1-7 record and replaced, at first, by assistant
Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...
, and then by Aleksandar Petrović on a full-time basis. Under Petrovič, and relegated from the EuroLeague, to the EuroCup, Rytas regained their form after their poor EuroLeague season. Rytas finished the EuroCup Last 32 phase with a 4-2 record - in a group with Beşiktaş Integral Forex, Cedevita Zagreb and
CAI Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the FIBA Europe Cup. ...
- qualifying for the EuroCup playoffs. In the EuroCup playoffs, Rytas faced, and was eliminated by Crvena zvezda Belgrade. In the LKL, Rytas dominated. Antanas Kavaliauskas was signed on as the team's center before the end of the regular season - Rytas finished in first place in the regular season standings, while also beating rivals Žalgiris Kaunas in a series sweep - the win in Kaunas which resulted in Žalgiris finishing without any homecourt advantage for the semfinals. However, Rytas suffered even more heartbreak in the
LKF Cup The LKF Cup was an annual national domestic cup competition for Lithuanian professional basketball teams. It was organised by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (Lietuvos Krepšinio Federacija - LKF). The competition's full name was Lietuvos Kre ...
competition - considered heavy favorites, Rytas was beaten in what is considered the biggest upset in the Cup competitions history by TonyBet Prienai. The loss proved to be the end for coach Petrovič, who was fired by Rytas immediately after the finals, and replaced him by assistant coach Adomaitis. In the LKL playoffs, Lietuvos rytas suffered the worst heartbreak, as for the first time since 1999, Rytas failed to qualify for the LKL finals; Rytas faced Žalgiris, and even with Rytas having homecourt advantage, Žalgiris won the series 2–1 - this is considered as the biggest fiasco in club history. Žalgiris went on to win the LKL championship. The disastrous season continued for Rytas in the VTB playoffs, where they lost to
BC Nizhny Novgorod BC Nizhny Novgorod (), commonly known as simply Nizhny Novgorod, also known as Pari Nizhny Novgorod for sponsorship reasons, is a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It participates in the VTB United League. Hi ...
in the semifinals, losing a chance to play in the 2014–15 EuroLeague season - ending the season in a complete fiasco. Rytas won the bronze medals in the LKL and the VTB League. This was the team's worst season since 1998–99.


Tough years in EuroCup and LKL (2014–2017)


2014–15: Return to EuroCup

Seibutis, Palacios, Cook, Songaila, Jelovac, Dowdell, Bendžius all left Rytas, forcing Rytas to completely rebuild during the off-season. Also, the team played most of its games in the newly reconstructed Lietuvos rytas Arena instead of the
Siemens Arena Twinsbet Arena, located in the southern part of Verkiai elderate of Vilnius, is the largest arena in Vilnius and second largest in Lithuania. It generally hosts basketball games as well as concerts. The arena opened on 30 October 2004. Basketba ...
. Rytas also withdrew from the VTB League.
Virginijus Šeškus Virginijus Šeškus (born February 8, 1967) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach. He was previously the head coach of M Basket Mažeikiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Career Virginijus Šeškus was born in Prienai, ...
, the architect of TonyBet Prienai and the win over Rytas in the LKF Cup, was signed as head coach. Under Šeškus, Rytas signed ex-Žalgiris player and Lithuanian national team member
Adas Juškevičius Adas Juškevičius (born 3 January 1989) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He is a combo guard who stands tall. Professional career Tecnyconta Zaragoza (2016–2 ...
, former NBA player and leader of
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
Travis Leslie, his TonyBet stars, ex-Rytas player
Mindaugas Lukauskis Mindaugas Lukauskis locally also known as ''the Legend'' or ''the Iron man'', (born 19 May 1979) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Lukauskis holds numerous Lithuanian Basketball League records and is the league's all-time lea ...
and center
Artūras Valeika Artūras Valeika (born 11 August 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for CBet Jonava of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He is 2 times champion in Romania with CSM Oradea, and one time SuperCup winner with the ”Red Lions”. B ...
, and also signed
Billy Baron William James Baron (born December 11, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a tall shooting guard. High school Baron born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, attended and played high school basketball at Bishop Hendricken Hig ...
and
Mike Moser Michael Alexander Moser (pronounced MOH-zer; born November 8, 1990) is an American retired professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college ...
to complete the team. Gediminas Orelik became the new Rytas leader, along with Martynas Gecevičius and Antanas Kavaliauskas, who remained with Rytas during the summer. Rytas finished the first 2014-15 EuroCup Basketball round with an 8–2 record and took first place in the group, which also featured Banvit, Krasny Oktyabr, Asesoft Ploiești,
KK Partizan Košarkaški klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Партизан, lit=Basketball Club Partizan), commonly known as Partizan Belgrade, or as Partizan Mozzart Bet for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports cl ...
and
Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...
. In the Last 32 round, even with signings of
Kšyštof Lavrinovič Kšyštof Lavrinovič (; born 1 November 1979) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the power forward and Center (basketball), center positions. Lavrinovič was a two-time All-EuroLeague Te ...
,
Žygimantas Janavičius Žygimantas Janavičius (born February 20, 1989) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Neptūnas, Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at tall and weighing , he plays as a point guard. Professi ...
, and
Simas Jasaitis Simas Jasaitis (born 26 March 1982) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team. Professional career Jasaitis' first team in the LKL was Sakalai during the 2000-2001 season. In t ...
, Rytas struggled - relegated EuroLeague side PGE Turów took first place in the group over Rytas, and Rytas split wins with
Telenet Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in t ...
and
CB Sevilla Real Betis Baloncesto S.A.D., simply known as Real Betis, is a professional basketball team based in Seville, Spain. The team plays in the LEB Oro, the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It p ...
- a home win over Telenet Oostende opening the way for Rytas to the EuroCup playoffs. Even the win was not enough for coach Šeškus, who was fired as head coach, and replaced by
Marcelo Nicola Marcelo Patricio Nicola Virginio (born May 12, 1971) is an Argentine-Italian former professional basketball player and a current coach. A very versatile power forward, he was a regular member of the Argentine national basketball team, and compet ...
. Rytas lost in first game of the EuroCup playoffs against
Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...
, tying 81-81 at home, but Karşıyaka dominating Rytas at home, 97-81. In the
2015 LKF Cup The 2015 LKF Cup was the 9th edition of this annual competition between Lithuanian basketball clubs held 20–22 February in Kaunas. Žalgiris Kaunas won its fifth title three years after its last one. Participating teams * Žalgiris Kaunas * ...
, Rytas defeated Dzūkija Alytus and
Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
to reach the finals - Žalgiris defeated Rytas 82–76 in the finals. In LKL, Rytas fought with Žalgiris for the first place in the regular season - a win by Žalgiris in the final game of the regular season secured the first place for Žalgiris with a one win advantage. In the LKL playoffs, Rytas defeated Šiauliai 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and then defeated EuroLeague side, and fellow EuroCup team Neptūnas Klaipėda 3–1 in the semifinals, in a tough series, qualifying for the LKL Finals after a one-year break. Žalgiris went on to beat Rytas 4-0 in the LKL finals. -


2015–16

In addition to playing in the 2'500-seat arena, the club once again started playing more of their bigger games (including in the EuroCup and against Žalgiris) at the Siemens Arena, following an agreement with the arena which lasted until 2020.
Billy Baron William James Baron (born December 11, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a tall shooting guard. High school Baron born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, attended and played high school basketball at Bishop Hendricken Hig ...
, Mike Moser, Travis Leslie, Martynas Gecevičius, Simas Jasaitis (who dissapointed the previous season in a very forgettable final stint with Rytas) all left Rytas during the summer, while
Marcelo Nicola Marcelo Patricio Nicola Virginio (born May 12, 1971) is an Argentine-Italian former professional basketball player and a current coach. A very versatile power forward, he was a regular member of the Argentine national basketball team, and compet ...
remained as the head coach, also bringing with him point guard Nicolas Laprovittola - his European debut. Much of the previous season's roster (including leaders Orelik, Juškevičius and Lavrinovič) remained, with Antanas Kavaliauskas signing a new contract with Rytas, publicly rejecting an offer from rivals Žalgiris Kaunas.
Rokas Giedraitis Rokas Giedraitis (born August 16, 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for KK Crvena zvezda, Crvena zvezda of the Serbian Basketball League of Serbia, KLS, the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He primarily plays at the small forward ...
and Julius Jucikas were signed by Rytas from
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
, where both were team leaders. Rytas also signed Neptūnas leader
Deividas Gailius Deividas Gailius ( Daunys; April 26, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player who recently played for Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at , he plays the small forward and shooting guard positions ...
. The most shocking signing of the summer became the signing of
Artūras Gudaitis Artūras Gudaitis (born 19 June 1993) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League. Standing at , he plays at the center position. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 47th ...
, the talented center from Žalgiris, who signed with Rytas in a long-term deal. Expectations for the 2015–16 EuroCup were high for Rytas - the group featured
Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...
,
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 ...
,
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
,
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
and Szolnoki Olaj - Rytas was expected to not only qualify for the Last-32 stage, but also reach the playoffs. Instead, Rytas played the worst season in the EuroCup in club history - Zenit, Avtodor, PAOK all dominated against Rytas, with even lone wins over Beşiktaş and even the lowly Olaj were met with sound home defeats - Rytas played so poorly, that the attendance declined with each game. Rytas finished with an abysmal 2-8 record. Much of the previous season's leaders greatly underperformed, in contrast to the previous season. Rytas fired Nicola, replacing him at first by assistant Aurimas Jasilionis, who also was replaced after a series of poor results by long-time assistant Arvydas Gronskis. Results only started improving when
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 ...
became the team's new head coach. Under Pačėsas, Rytas made a lot of questionable roster changes - Rytas released Laprovittola and signed point guards Denys Lukashov and Kendrick Brown, and also signing center
Adam Łapeta Adam Łapeta (born 9 November 1987) is a Polish professional basketball player for MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza (basketball), MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Professional career Previously a member of the Prokom Trefl Sop ...
and long-time Rytas player
Artūras Jomantas Artūras Jomantas (born May 4, 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Professional career Born in Mažeikiai, Lithuania, he made his debut with Mažeikiai Nafta during the 2001-02 season. He played high-school basketball ...
from fellow LKL team
BC Dzūkija BC Dzūkija () was a professional basketball club located in Alytus, Lithuania. It was founded in 2012 and participated in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). It was the newest basketball club based in Alytus after BC Alita and BC Alytus were di ...
. Rytas also made an unopular decision to loan out Giedraitis and Jucikas to other LKL teams - essentially leaving Rytas as a team, lead by veteran leadership. On 19–21 February, Rytas competed in the newly formed
Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė (English: King Mindaugas Cup) is an annual national domestic basketball cup competition between Lithuanian professional teams. It is organised by the Lithuanian Basketball League (Lietuvos krepšinio lyga – LKL). The to ...
tournament, held in Vilnius, which replaced the LKF Cup and was also organized by the LKL. After defeating Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the quarterfinals 88–82, Neptūnas Klaipėda in the semifinals 97–79, and Žalgiris Kaunas in the final 67–57, Rytas won their first trophy since 2010. The rest of the season, however, was a disaster. While the Pačėsas initiated roster changes were successful short-term, they backfired in the long run for Rytas. In the LKL regular season, Rytas finished behind rivals Žalgiris. Rytas defeated Lietkabelis Panevėžys in a tough quarterfinal 3-0 sweep. In the semifinals, Rytas faced Neptūnas in the LKL semifinals - while Rytas had been the better team in the regular season, Neptūnas had the better EuroCup campaign as Neptūnas reached the Last-32 stage. Neptūnas was also coached by former Rytas coach
Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...
. Neptūnas beat Rytas 83-71 in Vilnius, and 70-68 in Klaipėda to take a 2-0 series lead - before Rytas made a comeback and tied the series 2-2 with 66-64 wins in Vilnius and 74-73 at Klaipėda. In the decider, Neptūnas shocked Rytas with a 73-72 win and a 3-2 series win. For the second time in three years, Rytas missed the LKL finals - which were won by Žalgiris. The disappointing season ended with the team winning the LKL bronze medal series 3–0 versus the Juventus Utena.


2016–17: Departure of the old management

During the summer, team captain Kavaliauskas had a dispute with the team management concerning his pay, after which he signed with Žalgiris Kaunas. Rytas underwent massive roster changes during the summer - Orelik, Lukauskis, Janavičius, Lavrinovič, Juškevičius, Brown, Lukashov all departed. Coach Pačėsas remained with Rytas. Lietuvos rytas qualified for the EuroCup Top 16 phase with a 3–5 record - home wins over Montakit Funelabrada,
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 ...
and one of the competiton's favorites to win,
Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...
- Rytas was lead by summer signings David Logan and Drew Gordon in the EuroCup. During the EuroCup, Rytas struggled the point guard position - with uneventful stints for Rashaun Broadus,
Josh Akognon Joshua Emmanuel Akognon (born February 10, 1986) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and Cal State Fullerton Titans. Standing at , he played at the point guar ...
and Corey Fisher, who remained with Rytas full time, later joined with
Clevin Hannah Clevin Finley Hannah (born November 15, 1987) is an American-Senegalese professional basketball player who last played for Scafati Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. Professional career Hannah began his professional career with Perla Harg ...
. After failing to progress into the EuroCup Playoffs -
Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...
held an advantage over Rytas and qualified over Rytas for the playoffs, the club announced addition of guard Jimmy Baron from local rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda - with Baron's arrival, Logan, Rytas leader, departed Rytas. On 10 February, Tomas Pačėsas stepped down and was replaced by
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
, who had coached Rytas to most of its titles previously. Under coach Kurtinaitis, Rytas shockingly lost to Juventus Utena in the quarterfinals of the King Mindaugas Cup, but Rytas finished in the LKL regular season behind Žalgiris Kaunas, who swept Lietuvos rytas during the season - Kavaliauskas was heavilly jeered by Rytas fans whenever the teams met. Rytas defeated Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys in the quarterfinals 3–0. Rytas faced Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the semifinals - Rytas beat Lietkabelis 96-85 in the first game at home, but Lietkabelis beat Rytas 90-73 at Panevėžys, 81-73 in Vilnius, and 86-77 in Panevėžys - to beat Rytas 3-1, in a big upset. Lietkabelis were also lead by Lavrinovič, Lukauskis and Janavičius, who all played a big part in beating Rytas. This fiasco meant that Rytas did not qualify for the LKL finals for the second time in a row for the first time in the team's history. Žalgirs went on to win the LKL championship. Controversy arose as Rytas players Fisher, Hannah, Taylor Brown and Gordon were all suspended by the team for alleged partying during the series. In the bronze medal series against Neptūnas, Rytas and Neptūnas split home wins, before Rytas won their final game against Neptūnas 74–66 to take the bronze medal series 3–2, after clutch shots by ex-Neptūnas players
Deividas Gailius Deividas Gailius ( Daunys; April 26, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player who recently played for Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at , he plays the small forward and shooting guard positions ...
and Jimmy Baron, ending the season with a more positive note and avenging their 2016 loss to Neptūnas. The massively dissapointing season ended with an international scandal for the team, however, as club president Gedvydas Vainauskas made a controversial statement about black players on the team, drawing negative attention to the team from around the world.


New owners' era (2017–present)

On 19 June 2017, famous
poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
player, businessman and
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
member
Antanas Guoga Antanas Guoga (born 17 December 1973), more commonly known as Tony G, is a Lithuanian-Australian businessman, poker player, politician and philanthropist. In November 2020, he was elected to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on the elector ...
bought fifty percent of the club from Sigitas Židonis and Remigijus Kazilionis. Two remaining stake owners Darius Gudelis and
Vilnius City Municipality Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
retained their rights to the club (twenty-five percent each). On 20 June Gedvydas Vainauskas resigned as president of Rytas a position he held since the founding of the club in 1997, just a week after receiving an award from LKL president Remigijus Milašius for his contributions to basketball. Shortly after becoming the new owner of the club, Guoga sparked discussions about changing the club's name and invited the public to offer their ideas since the team no longer had connections with the Vainauskas' newspaper Lietuvos rytas. The idea was sharply criticised by the club's elite fans, group B Tribūna (Rytas Ultras), who said the only team they would support is black-white-red Rytas. On 21 June, the new owners organised a meeting, during which the first changes were announced. The public institution Krepšinio rytas was renamed to Statyba to honour the historical Statyba Vilnius, Darius Gudelis replaced Martynas Purlys as the club's director, and it was decided that the club's name Lietuvos rytas would be changed within a year with the most likely, but not yet final, choice being Rytas. Guoga also told the media it was very likely that at least two Lithuanian basketball stars will participate on the team, in addition to Jonas Valančiūnas,
Linas Kleiza Linas Kleiza (; born January 3, 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. Standing at , he played at the small forward and power forward positions. In 2010, he was the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy ...
and Arvydas Macijauskas. On 4 July, Gudelis announced that former assistant coach Alberto Blanco and Linas Kleiza were joining the club. Their first task was to assist Rimas Kurtinaitis to bring together a new team roster. On 13 July, a press conference was held during which it was announced that Kleiza had also become a shareholder of the club buying part of the Guoga's stake. He was named vice-president of the club and would act as sports director. Limited liability company Norvelita and Perlas also became shareholders of the club. Despite positive changes in the club, rifts between the new owners started to emerge after it announced a sponsorship agreement with Lithuanian business consortium
MG Baltic MG, Mg, or mg and variants may refer to: Arts Entertainment * MG, a character in ''The Perhapanauts'' comics * Magilla Gorilla, a cartoon character * ''Match Game'', a television game show Music * '' Main gauche'', "left hand" in piano play ...
. Club president Antanas Guoga condemned the partnership and demanded an annulment of it and the resignation of CEO Darius Gudelis. Despite his wishes the other shareholders decided against these actions and openly questioned Guoga's financial commitment to the club. Finally on 24 October, the club announced that Guoga had sold his share in the club to Gudelis and had written off €300,000 that he had previously loaned the club. On 9 October 2018, however, it was revealed Guoga was still the team's president. Gudelis resigned on 15 November, after a controversy involving Blanco. Executive director Julius Serapinas was named as his replacement. On 7 June 2019, Serapinas was replaced by former Rytas player Rolandas Jarutis. Kleiza left the team in February 2020, after a falling out with Jarutis.


2017–18: Comeback

On 14 June 2017, it was announced that Rytas had received a wild card to the 2017–18 EuroCup season. On 17 June, Rytas signed with first addition to the club for the upcoming season, former Lietkabelis leader Ben Madgen. Rimas Kurtinaitis remained as head coach. On 11 July, famous Lithuanian masseur Juozas Petkevičius returned to the team. After launching ticket sales for the upcoming season, the team has sold 1,800 season tickets in less than 24 hours. On 19 July, Rytas signed veteran Mindaugas Lukauskis for his ninth season as a club member. On the following day, Travis Peterson was signed and Kurtinaitis also confirmed that the team had reached an agreement with
Chris Kramer Christopher Scott Kramer (כריס קרמר; born April 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the Purdue University Boilermakers. Kramer participated with the 2010 Milwaukee Bucks train ...
. On 22 July, Chris Kramer and Marc Antonio Carter officially joined the team. On 28 July, Mindaugas Brazys joined the coaching staff. On 17 August, notable Lithuanian youth national team member Martynas Echodas was signed to a three-year deal. The newly formed team showed positive results during the preparation games, winning all seven games and the Vladas Garastas Cup. On 23 September, Rytas began the
2017–18 LKL season The 2017–18 Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also called Betsafe-LKL for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of the top-tier level professional basketball league of Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL; ), als ...
by defeating Juventus Utena 82–75. On 25 September, Rytas signed experienced veteran
Loukas Mavrokefalidis Loukas Mavrokefalidis (alternate spelling: Mavrokefalides) (Greek: Λουκάς Μαυροκεφαλίδης; born 25 July 1984) is a Greek professional basketball player who last played for Ionikos Nikaias of the Greek Basket League. He has also ...
. Due to Artūras Gudaitis' departure to the Olimpia Milano, he was replaced by
Egidijus Mockevičius Egidijus Mockevičius (born 1 September 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for the Evansville Purple Aces men ...
, who signed a three-year deal with the team on 30 September. However, Mockevičius was unable to play due to injury. In the LKL regular season, Rytas played its best season since 2015. Wins over rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda and Lietkabelis Panevėžys helped Rytas reach second place in the standings, behind Žalgiris Kaunas, with whom Rytas tied in the regular season series. In the LKL playoffs, Rytas defeated Juventus Utena 3–0 in the quarterfinals. Having signed Neptūnas leaders Girdžiūnas and Butkevičius, Rytas became the most hated team in Klaipėda, and the rivalry between the two teams intensified. Rytas tied the season series with Neptūnas 2–2 in the regular season, with a win in Klaipėda in April 90–72, the first since the 2016 season. This helped Rytas secure second place in the standings. The two teams faced off in the LKL semifinals. In the first game in Vilnius, Rytas lost to Neptūnas 83–74. In the second game in Klaipėda, Rytas avenged the loss winning 67–49 and tying the series at 1–1. Rytas then won the third game at home, 74–67, to take a 2–1 series lead. In Klaipėda, with a chance to close out the series in the fourth game, Rytas took a 16-point lead in the first quarter. Neptūnas, however, came back and took the lead in the fourth quarter winning the game 74–70, and forcing the deciding match in Vilnius by tying the series 2–2. In the deciding fifth game Rytas defeated Neptūnas 88–82, winning the series 3–2. The win marked the first trip to the LKL finals since 2015. In the LKL finals, Rytas faced Žalgiris Kaunas, playing the best season since 1999 and coming off a third-place finish in the Euroleague. Rytas lost the first game, 96–83, in Kaunas. In the second game, Rytas won 82–73 in Vilnius, led by Mavrokefalidis scoring 22 points and Ben Madgen with 19, and tied the series at 1–1. This win marked the first win by Rytas in the LKL finals since 2011. In Kaunas, Žalgiris Kaunas won the game 90–80 and took a 2–1 series lead. Back in Vilnius, Rytas led for much of the first half but lost 82–78, with Žalgiris Kaunas taking a commanding 3–1 series lead. With one last chance, Rytas fought hard in the fifth game in Kaunas, but a strong fourth quarter by Žalgiris Kaunas led to an 80–70 win, and winning the series 4–1. In the
2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2 ...
, Rytas avenged their previous season defeat against Juventus Utena, winning in overtime 91–88 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, held in Klaipėda, Rytas defeated Dzūkija Alytus 81–61. In the finals, Rytas faced rival Žalgiris Kaunas, who were having a successful season in the Euroleague. Coming off two wins against Žalgiris Kaunas in the LKL, Rytas lead in the first half, before Žalgiris Kaunas recovered in the second, dominating the game and beating Rytas 81–62 in the finals. In the
2017–18 EuroCup Basketball The 2017–18 EuroCup Basketball, also known as 7DAYS EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, season was the 16th season of Euroleague Basketball's secondary level professional club basketball tournament. It will be the tenth season since it was renamed ...
season, Rytas lost at home to
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 ...
93–83 in the opener. The next week, Rytas won their first game by defeating Partizan Belgrade 91–80 in Belgrade thanks to the efforts of Week MVP Rokas Giedraitis, who scored 28 points, and Loukas Mavrokefalidis, 26 points. An injury to Chris Kramer hurt the team. Rytas then lost a home game to PBC Lokomotiv Kuban 93–85 in overtime, as well as an away game to
Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and c ...
93–86. The team faced a lot of criticism for poor defence. With Kramer back in the lineup, Rytas defeated
Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...
at home, 92–76. The second round of the Eurocup was a huge success for Rytas. In Bilbao, Rytas avenged their loss by defeating Bilbao Basket 96–79 led by Chris Kramer, who scored 27 points, and became the Week MVP. A home win against Partizan Belgrade followed, 93–75. Rytas lost to Lokomotiv Kuban 77–68 in an away game. Many changes occurred to the team at the same time. Marc Antonio Carter and power forward Robert Carter were released, and replaced by Mindaugas Girdžiūnas and Arnas Butkevičius, leaders from rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda, and Egidijus Mockevičius returned from injury. These changes helped, as Rytas won the most important game in the regular season, by defeating Alba Berlin 94–73 and avenging their first round loss. The win also helped Rytas qualify for the EuroCup Top 16. In the last game of the regular season, Rytas defeated Limoges CSP 71–69 in an away game, finishing second in the group C. In the Top 16, Rytas started by losing to B.C. Zenit Saint Petersburg at home, 98–96. After losing two more away games to
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
81–68 and Fiat Torino 83–77, Rytas fell to an 0–3 record, its worst start in club history. A strong game by Martynas Echodas, who became the Week MVP, helped Rytas win against Fiat Torino 101–68 at home. During the same game, however, Arnas Butkevičius suffered a broken hand, and was out for about five weeks. In the most important game of the EuroCup season for Rytas, they fell to Zenit 113–100 in an away game, losing any chance to qualify for the EuroCup playoffs. Coach Kurtinaitis and the team faced heavy criticism for the poor defence. In the final home game in the EuroCup, Rytas lost to Bayern Munich 87–85, another poor defensive showing, and finished with a 1–5 record and last place in Top 16 group F.


2018–19: King Mindaugas Cup winners and return to the EuroCup playoffs

The preparation for the season began in June, during the semifinal series, with controversial rumors that Lithuanian national basketball team, and former Rytas head coach Dainius Adomaitis would replace coach Kurtinaitis at the end of the season. While the team denied the rumors, after losing the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas, Adomaitis was named the team's new head coach. Former Rytas players, and current members of the national team, Eimantas Bendžius and Evaldas Kairys, were the first additions, signing in July. Dominique Sutton, formerly of
Dolomiti Energia Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur divisi ...
, and one of the best players in both the Italian league and the Eurocup, signed in August. D. J. Seeley replaced Rokas Giedraitis, who left to sign with Alba Berlin. Rytas also signed point guard Matt Farrell, scoring leader from the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, but he was released just before the season for reported personal reasons. Talented young players
Deividas Sirvydis Deividas Sirvydis (born 10 June 2000) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. Sirvydis was selected 37th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019 NBA dr ...
and Marek Blaževič were signed to long-term deals.
Norbertas Giga Norbertas Giga (born June 6, 1995) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Prawira Bandung of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). He played college basketball for Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball, Jacksonville Stat ...
, former member of the Rytas system, returned in October. Kramer, who resigned in the summer, was named the new team captain. Rytas won the first game of the season, beating Juventus Utena, 87–57, in the start of the LKL. In the
2018–19 EuroCup Basketball The 2018–19 EuroCup Basketball season, also known as 7DAYS EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is the 17th season of Euroleague Basketball's secondary level professional club basketball tournament. It is the 11th season since it was renamed from t ...
season, Rytas played in group D, and struggled against top teams in the group, such as Unicaja Malaga,
UNICS Kazan BC UNICS () is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukr ...
and
Fraport Skyliners The Skyliners Frankfurt, formerly known as Fraport Skyliners for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball club based in Frankfurt, Germany. Their home arena is Ballsporthalle. The club has played in the Basketball Bundesliga since 199 ...
, but wins over
KK Mornar Košarkaški klub Mornar (Cyrillic: Кошаркашки клуб Морнар), commonly referred to as Mornar Barsko zlato for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional basketball club based in Bar, Montenegro. The club competes in the Mont ...
and Fiat Torino helped Rytas qualify for the Top 16 stage with a 5–5 record. Seeley, Sutton (who was released in February) and Bendžius were the team leaders. Martynas Echodas was named the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star. In the Top 16 stage, now joined by Stipčević and
Artsiom Parakhouski Artsiom Parakhouski (born October 6, 1987) is a Belarusian professional basketball player for Śląsk Wrocław of the PLK. Standing at , he plays at the center position. He finished his American college career in 2010 with the Radford Universit ...
, Rytas struggled against
Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and c ...
, which was led by former Rytas player
Rokas Giedraitis Rokas Giedraitis (born August 16, 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for KK Crvena zvezda, Crvena zvezda of the Serbian Basketball League of Serbia, KLS, the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He primarily plays at the small forward ...
, but wins over
KK Partizan Košarkaški klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Партизан, lit=Basketball Club Partizan), commonly known as Partizan Belgrade, or as Partizan Mozzart Bet for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports cl ...
and
AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...
helped them qualify for the EuroCup playoffs for the first time since 2015. Rytas faced
Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup, and his Valencia Basket ...
, losing the series 2–0 and being eliminated from the EuroCup. During the 2018–19 season, Rytas won the King Mindaugas Cup. After eliminating Juventus Utena in the Quarterfinals, they eliminated Neptūnas Klaipėda in the semifinals 86–72 and then defeated Žalgiris Kaunas in the Final 70–67. After a season-ending injury to Kramer, Rytas signed
Derek Needham Derek Ryan Needham (born October 20, 1990) is an American-born naturalized Montenegrin professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Emlakjet of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Standing at , he plays the point guard position. Needham played col ...
to fill the point guard spot. During the season in the LKL, Rytas struggled against rivals Žalgiris,
Lietkabelis BC Lietkabelis (), commonly known as Lietkabelis Panevėžys, also known as 7bet-Lietkabelis for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Panevėžys, Lithuania, participating in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lit ...
and Neptūnas, which led to Rytas finishing third in the regular season with a 26–10 record, worst regular season finish in club history. Rytas faced
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
in the quarterfinals, winning the series in 2–1. In the semifinals, Rytas faced Neptūnas who, for the first time, had home court advantage, defeating them shockingly easily 2–0 and advancing to the LKL Finals. In the LKL Finals, Žalgiris easily swept Rytas 3–0.


2019–20: Final season in the EuroCup

During the off-season, Parakhouski, Seeley, Needham, Kramer, Stipčević, Giga, Normantas, Piliauskas all departed from the team. Rolandas Jarutis, former Rytas player, was named the new team manager. Under Jarutis, Rytas started adding more players from developmental team Perlas-MRU, like
Augustas Marčiulionis Augustas Marčiulionis (born 21 March 2002) is a Lithuanian basketball player for NCAA Division I Saint Mary's College after having played for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing , he plays the point guard positi ...
, son of legendary basketball player
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the National ...
, Simas Jarumbauskas, Einaras Tubutis,
Ąžuolas Tubelis Ąžuolas Tubelis (born 22 March 2002) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball, A ...
and Marek Blaževič, who already had played in the previous seasons, but also played in the NKL for Perlas. Karolis Giedraitis, son of former Rytas player
Andrius Giedraitis Andrius Giedraitis (born July 23, 1973) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and coach. Professional career Giedraitis started his career in the LPA Vilnius team, and he later moved to BC Sakalai. In 1998, he became a member o ...
, also earned a spot on the team. Deividas Sirvydis, drafted in the
2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...
by the
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as the 37th pick, but traded to the
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
, remained with the team. Bendžius, Girdžiūnas and most importantly, the improving Butkevičius remained with the team. Butkevičius also debuted for the Lithuanian national basketball team in the World Cup. Rytas also signed Dovis Bičkauskis from Juventus and
Tu Holloway Terrell "Tu" Holloway (born August 21, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Cocodrilos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). As a junior at Xavier, he was selected as the 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference ...
as the new point guards. Australian Cameron Bairstow was signed as the new power forward, while Francisco Cruz was signed as the new shooting guard. Evaldas Kairys was initially among the players released during the summer, but was re-signed in September. After the season, coach Adomaitis remained with Rytas. The preparation for the season began in August. Rytas largely struggled in pre-season matches. Rytas started the
2019–20 LKL season The 2019–20 Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also called Betsafe-LKL for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the top-tier level professional basketball league of Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). On 13 March 2020, season was ended ...
with a five-game winning streak. The win streak was snapped by Žalgiris Kaunas. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the LKL season ended prematurely - Žalgiris were announced as the winners, while Rytas finished second - one win over third-placed Lietkabelis Panevėžys. In the King Mindaugas Cup tournament, Rytas reached the finals, but was defeated by Žalgiris. In the 2019–20 EuroCup Basketball season, Rytas played in Group B, with
Umana Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the Italian basketball league sys ...
, Partizan NIS,
Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...
, Lokomotiv Kuban and
Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...
. Wins over Lokomotiv Kuban and Tofaş helped Rytas qualify for the Top 16, with a 4–6 record, also eliminating the powerful Lokomotiv team, from the competition. Bendžius, Butkevičius and Cruz lead the team. In the Top 16 competition, Rytas played
UNICS Kazan BC UNICS () is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukr ...
,
AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...
and
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
. Losses against AS Monaco and UNICS eliminated Rytas from playoff contention. Rytas finished with a 3–3 record, and third place in the standings. The season was later cancelled. During the season, Rytas gave much of the younger players playing time, with Blaževič in particular having a breakout season with Rytas, both in the LKL and the EuroCup.


2020–21: Return to FIBA competitions

Rytas faced with the 2020–21 season with drastically reduced budget as the club had to pay off debts, despite the fact that the debt from June 2017 decreased from 4,040,000 Eur to 2,140,000 Eur, and fired team manager Jarutis. Therefore, the club decided to choose the
Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...
instead of the EuroCup due to a much more beneficial financial offer and returned to a
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
competition for the first time since the 2002–03 season. Rytas sold its young talents
Deividas Sirvydis Deividas Sirvydis (born 10 June 2000) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. Sirvydis was selected 37th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019 NBA dr ...
and Marek Blaževič for buyouts, with Marek in particular being a painful departure, as he left Rytas for Žalgiris. Captain Eimantas Bendžius left the club due to financial reasons, however Martynas Echodas and the new captain Arnas Butkevičius stayed in the team. Donaldas Kairys replaced
Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...
in the head coach position. Also, Rytas signed with a former
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 ...
star
Andrew Goudelock Andrew Darius Goudelock (born December 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard position. He played college basketball for the ...
, Demetrius Jackson, who proved to be a pleasant surprise,
Chris McCullough Christopher Albert McCullough (born February 5, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Pelita Jaya of the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia). He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange. High school career ...
, and Lithuanians Saulius Kulvietis,
Rokas Gustys Rokas Gustys (born 22 August 1994) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Tokyo United Basketball Club, Tokyo United of the B.League. Gustys has competed with the Lithuanian junior national teams on multiple occasions. Early life ...
,
Gytis Radzevičius Gytis Radzevičius (born 17 July 1995) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region ...
, Lukas Uleckas,
Augustas Marčiulionis Augustas Marčiulionis (born 21 March 2002) is a Lithuanian basketball player for NCAA Division I Saint Mary's College after having played for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing , he plays the point guard positi ...
. Due to health reasons, contract with Kulvietis was terminated and he was replaced by
Kristjan Kitsing Kristjan Kitsing (born December 11, 1990) is an Estonian professional basketball player for TalTech of the Estonian–Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Kitsing is also a member of the Estonia national basketball te ...
;
Maurice Ndour Maurice Daly Ndour (born June 18, 1992) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Brescia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats and has represented the Senegalese national team ...
was also signed in October. The season initially started strong for Rytas – at the start of the LKL, Rytas smashed
BC Juventus BC Juventus (), also known as Uniclub Bet Juventus for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Utena, Lithuania. Founded in 1999, the club currently plays in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketbal ...
in the opener 106–77, and went on a six-game win streak, thanks to great play from Goudelock and point guard Jackson. The win streak was stopped by Žalgiris Kaunas, who beat Rytas in Vilnius. Problems arose within Rytas, starting with Jackson shockingly leaving Rytas just days after their
2020–21 Basketball Champions League The 2020–21 Basketball Champions League was the 5th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs launched and managed by FIBA. The season began on 15 September 2020 and ...
debut for personal reasons. McCullough had a number of off-court issues, ending with Rytas releasing him in November. Injuries, losses, reported and rumored conflicts between coach Kairys and Rytas players, poor player selection, with Ryan Boatright, replacing Jackson, and center Keith Benson becoming huge failures for Rytas, and by January, Rytas had completely fallen apart – Rytas ended their Champions League campaign after the group stage with a 2–4 record – a huge disappointment for the team. The problems continued – Ndour, one of the few bright spots for Rytas for the season, left Rytas after the exit in the Champions League. Rytas also suffered multiple upset losses in the LKL and in the King Mindaugas Cup, suffered the biggest fiasco of the season, losing to Juventus in the quarter-finals, including an embarrassing 27 point defeat at home. The loss proved to be the final game for coach Kairys, as he was fired immediately after the game, and was replaced by his assistant
Giedrius Žibėnas Giedrius Žibėnas (born 6 April 1984) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach. He is currently the head coach for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Coaching career Žibėnas started his coaching career in 2012 with ...
. Rytas also made a few more changes to the roster, releasing Boatright and Benson soon after the firing of Kairys, and signing Ivan Buva as the new center. To the surprise of everyone, under Žibėnas, Rytas made an incredible comeback, winning their next 16 out of 17 games in the LKL, including an away win over Žalgiris in Kaunas – their first win over Žalgiris since February 2019, thanks to an incredible by Ivan Buva, and rose up the standings in the LKL by the end of the regular season, finishing in second place after Žalgiris. In the LKL playoffs, Rytas swept both
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
and Eurocup team Lietkabelis Panevėžys to make the LKL finals. In the finals, Žalgiris swept Rytas 3–0. Many Rytas fans nonetheless largely considered the end of the season a success. After the season, coach Žibėnas signed an extension with the club to continue as head coach for the following season, for his great efforts in bringing Rytas back during the season.


2021–22: LKL champions

During the off-season, much of the roster departed the team. Rytas signed players like the returning Margiris Normantas,
Vaidas Kariniauskas Vaidas Kariniauskas (born 16 November 1993) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Wolves Twinsbet of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the point guard position. Professional career Karinia ...
, Jarvis Williams, Kenneth Smith and Tanner Leissner to strengthen the roster, while also keeping players like Buva, Butkevičius, Uleckas and Radzevičius, all among leaders of the previous season with the team. Coach Žibėnas remained as head coach of Rytas. While Rytas initially had struggles, soon enough, Rytas started showing some potential. Injuries to Williams and Leissner lead to the brief return of
Maurice Ndour Maurice Daly Ndour (born June 18, 1992) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Brescia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats and has represented the Senegalese national team ...
. Rytas had a long win streak in both the LKL, and the
Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...
. In the Champions League, Rytas finished 1st in the regular season, in a group that included
EWE Baskets Oldenburg Baskets Oldenburg, for sponsorship reasons EWE Baskets Oldenburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Oldenburg, Germany. The club plays in the Bundesliga. The club's name is derived from the team's main sponsor EWE AG ...
, Beşiktaş Icrypex and defending two-time champions of the tournament Hereda San Pablo Burgos, with Rytas getting memorable wins over Burgos both away, and at home, and finishing with a 4–2 record. In the LKL, Rytas had overtaken Žalgiris Kaunas in the standings, leading for much of the season. High hopes, nonetheless, once again hit some road blocks by January–March - the win streak ended with a close home loss to Žalgiris, who took first place in the LKL regular season, and Rytas struggled in the Champions League Round of 16 stage, falling behind Lenovo Tenerife, and
SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...
, finishing just out of the playoffs due to a point difference with SIG Strasbourg. In the King Mindaugas Cup, held in Vilnius, Rytas was believed to be a favorite heading in - however, a shock loss to Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the semifinals left Rytas without the finals for the second consecutive season. Rytas won the bronze medal game against
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
, also in a struggle. Žalgiris went on to win the tournament. During this time, Ndour once again left Rytas, and he was eventually replaced by former Rytas player Evaldas Kairys, who returned to the team. With the LKL remaining, by April, Rytas had once again found their game. Led by LKL MVP Buva, Rytas once again regained the LKL regular season leading position, by beating Žalgiris, and for the first time since 2013–14, Rytas finished in first place in the LKL standings and earned homecourt advantage for the playoffs. Great play by the improving Radzevičius, Uleckas, captain Butkevičius, Smith and the returning Jarvis Williams became the key for success. Players like Margiris Normantas were also praised for their efforts. In the LKL playoffs, Rytas had struggles - in the quarterfinals, Rytas defeated
BC Dzūkija BC Dzūkija () was a professional basketball club located in Alytus, Lithuania. It was founded in 2012 and participated in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). It was the newest basketball club based in Alytus after BC Alita and BC Alytus were di ...
3–1 in the quarterfinals, and
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
3–1 in the semifinals. Rytas would struggle early, but by the deciding games, would win in dominating fashion. In the LKL finals, Rytas would face a surprising opponent in Lietkabelis Panevėžys, who had eliminated the defending champions Žalgiris in the semifinals - Žalgiris had won the previous 11 consecutive LKL championships, and had been the most hated team among Rytas fans. While not getting a chance for revenge against Žalgiris for all the years of loses, Rytas had become the favorite of the LKL finals for the first time in a very long time. In the LKL finals start, however, Rytas lost to Lietkabelis 77–68 at home, losing their homecourt advantage. Rytas, having to respond, responded in dominating fashion by winning the next two games 88–66 in Panevėžys, and 85–63 in Vilnius, in a very controversial game which included Lietkabelis head coach Nenand Čanak shoving Rytas head coach Žibėnas and even getting into an argument with Rytas director Darius Gudelis. In a much hyped game in Panevėžys, facing a deficit, Rytas managed to pull a win over Lietkabelis 78–77, on a dunk in the deciding seconds from Butkevičius, and took a 3–1 lead in the LKL finals. On June 7, 2022, Rytas had finally prevailed - beating Lietkabelis 79–76, Rytas won the series 4–1. For the first time since 2010, Rytas had regained the LKL championship.


2022–23

Over the summer, much of the LKL championship winning team departed. Buva, Smith, Leissner, Girdžiūnas, Kariniauskas all departed. The most painful of the departures, was captain Arnas Butkevičius signing with hated rivals Žalgiris Kaunas. Rytas first signed the returning Martynas Echodas to replace the departing Ivan Buva. Rytas signed former Žalgiris player Gytis Masiulis to replace Leissner, while
Todd Withers Todd Dwoyne Withers (born May 6, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Warwick Senators of the NBL1 West. He played college basketball for the Queens Royals. Early life and high school Withers was born in Greensboro, North ...
was signed to replace Butkevičius.
Benedek Váradi Benedek Váradi (born 5 February 1995) is a Hungarian professional basketball player for Falco KC Szombathely of the Hungarian Basketball League. Professional career Váradi has been the team captain of his club Falco KC, which he led to the C ...
and former LKL MVP with BC Šiauliai Elvar Már Friðriksson were signed as the new point guards to replace Kariniauskas and Smith. Rytas also signed Marcus Foster (basketball), Marcus Foster at guard. Rytas also re-signed Radzevičius and Uleckas to new contracts, and kept Normantas, Williams and Evaldas Kairys with the team. Coach Giedrius Žibėnas also remained with the team. During the pre-season, Marcus Foster lead Rytas in scoring. Rytas also signed Tomas Lekūnas to a short-term deal, as Withers had not arrived by the start of the season for personal reasons. Lekūnas later signed a deal for the rest of the season, while Withers had officially left the team. By March, Rytas had signed point guard Kendale McCullum, power forward Justin Gorham and center Jaime Echenique, with all three playing a big part in Rytas deep run in the LKL playoffs. Rytas started the LKL season winning a close game against region rival Juventus 90–88. They continued the good start by winning two more games, but an unexpected defeat to Nevėžis at home on the fourth game completely shocked the team. They lost their next two games to CBet Jonava and Lietkabelis Panevežys, finding themselves with a disappointing 3–3 record to start. Rytas recovered, going on a seven-game win streak, which included a win over new rivals, BC Wolves, 91–89 away, and against long-time rivals Žalgiris, 89–85 at home, in a game where Foster scored 34 points and famously waved off the Žalgiris fans. The rivalry with the Wolves largely started due to the fact that the Wolves became the new team in Vilnius, and the games between both teams became very heated as the Wolves became one of the most hated teams among Rytas fans and many former Rytas players, like Lukauskis, joined the team, as well as being coached by long-time Rytas coach Rimas Kurtinaitis. Wolves snapped Rytas win streak in the LKL, with an 88–76 win over Rytas in Vilnius. Rytas rebounded, winning the next 11 out of 12 games in the LKL, and scoring an amazing win over Žalgiris in Kaunas, 100–94, with Normantas scoring 30 points and Foster scoring 28 points, renewing a rivalry with Žalgiris and a fight for first place in the LKL. Žalgiris, however, won the final game of the regular season between the teams, 81–75, a win that guaranteed Žalgiris first place in the LKL regular season over Rytas. Rytas finished by winning their last 6 games, including a win in Vilnius over Wolves, 102–98, with a 27–6 record. In the LKL playoffs, in the quarterfinals, Rytas faced old rivals BC Neptūnas, winning a very tough series 2–0, beating Neptūnas both at home in overtime, 107–99, and away, 95–91. In the semifinals, while many fans expected a Rytas–Wolves matchup, in an unexpected twist, Rytas faced CBet Jonava, who had swept the Wolves in the quarterfinals, was a surprise team of the season, and had already shocked Rytas in the King Mindaugas Cup semifinals. This time, Rytas gained revenge by beating CBet 82–74 at home, 82–67 in Jonava, and 90–85 at home, to sweep the series for a 3–0 win for Rytas. In the LKL finals, Rytas faced off against Žalgiris. In the first game, Žalgiris beat Rytas 108–93 at home to take the lead. In the second game, Rytas got revenge, while a tight game by halftime, Rytas had a very strong second half, leading to a dominating 94–71 win in the Jeep Arena in Vilnius, tying the series 1–1. Žalgiris won the next game 95–80 in Žalgiris Arena, to once again lead the series over Rytas. The fourth game became a classic – Žalgiris led much of the way, including double digits, looking to finish the series – Rytas, however, kept coming back, backed up by a packed Jeep Arena. In the deciding minutes, Rytas made one final comeback, and Marcus Foster won the game for Rytas with a deciding layup, 69–68, tying the series at 2–2. In the deciding game, in a packed Žalgiris Arena, Rytas led much of the game, including in the final minutes, before Žalgiris made a run led by Isaiah Taylor and former Rytas captain Butkevičius winning the game 97–87, and the series 3–2, to regain the LKL title. While defeated, Rytas earned much praise, both from Rytas fans and experts, for giving the best fight they could against a Žalgiris team that reached the Euroleague playoffs. Rytas lost to BC Nevėžis, Nevėžis-OPTIBET in King Mindaugas Cup qualifiers in their first game, 78–70, having to win at least by nine points their second match in Vilnius to advance to the Final Four tournament, held in Šiauliai. In the second game, after regulation, Rytas had led Nevėžis-OPTIBET 81–73, necessitating overtime. In overtime, the much stronger Rytas made short work of Nevėžis-OPTIBET, winning 98–78 to qualify for the semifinals. One of the main favorites to win the tournament, along with Žalgiris, Rytas was expected to beat BC Jonava, CBet Jonava in the semifinals. However, just like the previous season, history repeated itself. Rytas played poorly while CBet played one of the best games of the season, and CBet beat Rytas 92–86 in the semifinals in one of the biggest shocks in tournament history. For the third consecutive season, Rytas was eliminated in the King Mindaugas Cup semifinals. In the bronze medal game, Rytas, while erasing a huge deficit, could not defeat BC Lietkabelis, losing the game 91–88 and finishing in a disappointing fourth place. Žalgiris went on to win the tournament. Rytas started their FIBA Champions League campaign slowly, losing the first two away games of the tournament to the defending champions Lenovo Tenerife 89–74 and then following it up with a loss against Bnei Herzliya 90–85. In following games, they crushed Peristeri B.C., coached by legendary player Vassilis Spanoulis, 89–64 on their home debut, and beat them again 82–71 in Athens. Marcus Foster, for his strong performances, earned the MVP of November honors. With a 2–2 record, Rytas had a chance to qualify to the playoffs directly, however, Rytas lost to Bnei Herzliya at home, 101–90, dropping to 2–3. In the final game of the regular season, Rytas faced Lenovo Tenerife at home-, winning the game 85–78, and finished in second place in the group with a 3–3 record. While not being able to directly qualify to the Round of 16 phase, Rytas faced off PAOK B.C., PAOK in the tournament's play-in where they beat PAOK at home 85–62. PAOK tied the series with an 81–78 win over Rytas in Thessaloniki. In the deciding game, at home, Rytas once again dominated and won 82–63 over PAOK, winning the series 2–1 and qualifying to the Round of 16. In the deciding game for Rytas in the Champions League, they were defeated in an away game 82–69 by Bàsquet Manresa, Baxi Manresa. Foster continued his string of strong performances. Rytas beat Bahçeşehir Koleji at home, 95–88, and then faced one of the tournament favorites, Telekom Baskets Bonn, at both home and away. While Rytas came back after erasing a huge deficit in a home game, losing 86–79, they lost 99–72 in Bonn, with Rytas dropping 1–3. Rytas, still having a shot at the playoffs, earned a 92–69 away win against Bahçeşehir. With a 2–3 record, Rytas faced Baxi Manresa at home needing to win the game by 14 points to qualify for the playoffs. Baxi lead most of the game, but by the second half, Rytas had recovered and in the fourth quarter, took a 14-point lead over Baxi. Despite Rytas managed to win the game 96–95, Baxi qualified for the playoffs since both Rytas and Baxi finished with a 3–3 record, but a win by Baxi in the first game by 13 points led to Baxi's qualifiaction. Foster finished the tournament as the top scorer.


2023–24: Regaining the LKL championship

During the summer, McCullum, Fridriksson, Kairys, Lekūnas, Varadi, Echenique, and most importantly, team leader Marcus Foster all left the team, while Rytas re-signed team captain Normantas, Justin Gorham, Gytis Radzevičius and Martynas Echodas to new contracts during the summer. Coach Žibėnas was re-signed during the previous season. Rytas also signed new point guards Arnas Velička and R.J. Cole, center Javin DeLaurier and power forward Oskaras Pleikys to contracts. Keith Hornsby was initially signed as a replacement for Marcus Foster. Rytas also returned to play some home games in the Avia Solutions Group Arena, an arena now shared with inner-city rivals BC Wolves, Wolves Vilnius. During the
Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...
season, Rytas started the season with a 0–2 record, with JDA Dijon Basket, JDA Dijon, 87–83, and Promitheas Patras B.C., Promitheas Patras, 78–76, defeating Rytas in two away games. Rytas recovered with two dominating wins over BK Opava at home 99–63, and 95–75 away, and won home rematches against Promitheas, 77–75, and JDA Dijon, 79–77, to finish the regular season with a 4–2 record and one win behind group winners JDA Dijon, thus forced to fight for a spot in the Round of 16 in the Play-in tournament. Echodas, Normantas and Radzevičius lead the team in scoring during the regular season. Before the Play-in tournament, Marcus Foster returned to Rytas, replacing Hornsby. In the Play-in tournament, Rytas were heavy favorites against Peristeri B.C., Peristeri Athens - the previous season, Rytas had easily beat Peristeri in the competition. Led by a more experienced Vassilis Spanoulis, however, Peristeri was not the same team as the previous season - Peristeri crushed Rytas in Vilnius, 110–92, and beat Rytas 83–80 at home in Athens, beating Rytas 2-0 and shockingly eliminating Rytas from the competition. While Marcus Foster provided a spark for Rytas, he was not able to save Rytas from the elimination. In the King Mindaugas Cup, Rytas easily beat long-time rivals
BC Juventus BC Juventus (), also known as Uniclub Bet Juventus for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Utena, Lithuania. Founded in 1999, the club currently plays in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketbal ...
98-86 and 104–67 in the quarterfinals. In the Final Four, held in Kaunas, once again, even with the addition of the returning Marcus Foster, Rytas failed - in the semifinals, BC Lietkabelis, 7bet-Lietkabelis, in a rematch of the previous two tournament semifinal and bronze medal games, once again beat Rytas, 94–86, in the semifinals - with Rytas missing another chance to return to the KMT finals. In the bronze medal game, Rytas beat
BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...
, 94–89, in another hard-fought game to win the bronze medals. Žalgiris went on to win the tournament. In the LKL, for most of the season, Rytas fought for first place in the standings, against Žalgiris Kaunas and against the Wolves, the latter of whom Rytas fought against for the title of the best team in Vilnius. Rytas won the regular season series against the Wolves, but were swept by Žalgiris, thus finishing behind Žalgiris in the regular season standings, at second place. In the games against the Wolves, much of the fan-support was behind Rytas. Fueled by the return of Marcus Foster, Rytas entered the playoffs fighting for at least a spot in the LKL finals- in the quarterfinals, Rytas beat BC Jonava, CBet Jonava 110–77 at home, and 96–90 away, to win the series 2–0, and to set up a LKL semifinals clash against the Wolves, for the battle of Vilnius, as titled by both the players for each team, and the press. Homecourt advantage belonged to Rytas, but with each team sharing the Avia Solutions Group Arena court, neither team really had an advantage. Wolves started the series by shocking Rytas with a 96–85 win, taking the lead, before Rytas won the next two games, tainted with incidents by the players and even coach Žibėnas, 113-75 and 86–78. Wolves tied the series with a 97–86 win, to set up the deciding fifth game clash. Led by Foster, heavily supported all series by Rytas fans, Rytas won a hard-fought game 92–87 to finish off the Wolves and win the series 3–2, with Rytas returning to the LKL finals. Before the finals, rivals Žalgiris had suffered a huge blow as team leader Keenan Evans suffered a season ending injury - despite this, Žalgiris was still considered by most as the favorite to win the finals. Rytas had other ideas- in the first game, in Kaunas, Rytas beat the still shocked Žalgiris, by erasing a double digit deficit in the final minutes, in an overtime 89–88 win that took away the homecourt advantage for Žalgiris, with Rytas leading the series 1–0. In the second game, in Vilnius, once again, Žalgiris lead for most of the game, before Normantas and Foster sparked a comeback by Rytas - the game went to overtime, and again, Rytas managed to win, beating Žalgiris 104-94 and taking a 2–0 series lead. Žalgiris beat Rytas in Kaunas, 91–81. The fourth game became a classic - heavily cheered by over 9000 fans in the arena, Rytas would beat Žalgiris on a deciding layup by Foster, who scored 33 points, 88–87, to win the series and the LKL championship 3–1, winning their second championship in two years. The win by Rytas is considered by everyone to be the biggest upset ever in the LKL finals.


2024–25


BC Vilnius rytas anthem

Marijonas Mikutavičius, the creator of ''de facto'' Lithuania at the Olympics, Lithuania Olympics Team song – Trys Milijonai, also created a special song for the BC Lietuvos rytas team, following its success in LKL and the very first steps in the prestigious
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 ...
. The song is called "Laikas būti pirmiems" (Time To Be First) and it is widely regarded as the club's anthem. To this day it is still played after club wins or at time-outs during the home games.


Players


Current roster


Depth chart


Squad changes for/during the 2024–25 season

''Note: exact date is listed for players who joined or left during season.''


In


Out


Retired numbers


Honours

Total titles: 30


Season by season

::Detailed information of former rosters and results.


Team records in LKL

:if a record is tied, a more recent occasion is put into the table :Last updated: 2024-05-09


Important people and venues


Captains


Managers


Presidents


Venues


Notable players


In Statyba

* Algimantas Ližaitis 1964–1971 * Rimantas Endrijaitis 1965–1975 * Mykolas Karnišovas 1966–1978 * Juozas Rimkus 1966–1973 * Juras Kaziūnas 1967–1973 * Rimas Girskis 1968–1983 * Eduardas Kairys 1968–1978 * Edmundas Narmontas 1970–1985 *
Jonas Kazlauskas Jonas Kazlauskas (born 21 November 1954) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Playing career Kazlausk ...
1973–1985 * Algimantas Pavilonis 1973–1985 * Alfredas Vainauskas 1979–1990, 1993–1995 *
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the National ...
1982–1988 * Romanas Brazdauskis 1983–1984, 1986–1988 *
Artūras Karnišovas Artūras Karnišovas (born April 27, 1971) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He is the current executive vice president of basketball operations of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...
1987–1990 * Alvydas Pazdrazdis 1989–1992 * Martynas Purlys 1993–1995 *
Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...
1993–1996


In Lietuvos rytas/Rytas

To appear in this section a player must be either: * A player who has played at least 3 seasons (if foreign player) or 4 seasons (if Lithuanian player) for the club. * A player who has won #Individual awards, individual award. * A Lithuanian player who has played for the Lithuanian national basketball team. * A foreign international player who had significant impact (was a leader) in the club. * Lithuania: **
Steponas Babrauskas Steponas Babrauskas (born June 20, 1984) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as assistant coach at CBet Jonava. Professional career Babrauskas was a runner-up in the Lithuanian Basketball League ...
2003–2004, 2008–2014 ** Eimantas Bendžius 2010–2014, 2018-2020 ** Simas Buterlevičius 2007–2011, 2012–2013 ** Arnas Butkevičius 2017–2022 ** Povilas Čukinas 2002–2006 ** Tomas Delininkaitis 2002–2007 ** Darius Dimavičius 1998–1999 ** Deividas Dulkys 2012–2013 ** Martynas Echodas 2017–2021, 2022–2024 **
Gintaras Einikis Gintaras Einikis (born September 30, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player and current basketball coach, coach. He stands at 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and is a former Center (basketball), center for the senior Lithuania ...
2004–2005 **
Deividas Gailius Deividas Gailius ( Daunys; April 26, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player who recently played for Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at , he plays the small forward and shooting guard positions ...
2015–2017 **
Martynas Gecevičius Martynas Gecevičius (born 16 May 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Telšiai of the National Basketball League (NKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career Gecevičius deb ...
2007–2011, 2013–2015 **
Andrius Giedraitis Andrius Giedraitis (born July 23, 1973) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and coach. Professional career Giedraitis started his career in the LPA Vilnius team, and he later moved to BC Sakalai. In 1998, he became a member o ...
1998–2001 **
Rokas Giedraitis Rokas Giedraitis (born August 16, 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for KK Crvena zvezda, Crvena zvezda of the Serbian Basketball League of Serbia, KLS, the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He primarily plays at the small forward ...
2015–2018 ** Vidas Ginevičius 2009–2010 ** Mindaugas Girdžiūnas 2017–2022 **
Artūras Gudaitis Artūras Gudaitis (born 19 June 1993) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League. Standing at , he plays at the center position. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 47th ...
2015–2017 **
Simas Jasaitis Simas Jasaitis (born 26 March 1982) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team. Professional career Jasaitis' first team in the LKL was Sakalai during the 2000-2001 season. In t ...
2001–2006, 2011, 2015 **
Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. Durin ...
1998–1999, 2010 **
Robertas Javtokas Robertas Javtokas (born March 20, 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He most recently served as sports director of Žalgiris Kaunas. Standing at , he played the center position. He has been a member of th ...
1999–2006 **
Artūras Jomantas Artūras Jomantas (born May 4, 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Professional career Born in Mažeikiai, Lithuania, he made his debut with Mažeikiai Nafta during the 2001-02 season. He played high-school basketball ...
2006–2013, 2016–2018 **
Adas Juškevičius Adas Juškevičius (born 3 January 1989) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He is a combo guard who stands tall. Professional career Tecnyconta Zaragoza (2016–2 ...
2014–2016 ** Evaldas Kairys 2006–2007, 2018-2020 **
Rimantas Kaukėnas Rimantas "Rimas" Kaukėnas (born 11 April 1977) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player who is the president of Wolves Twinsbet of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup. His long career has taken hi ...
2001–2002 ** Antanas Kavaliauskas 2014–2016 **
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
1998–1999 **
Kšyštof Lavrinovič Kšyštof Lavrinovič (; born 1 November 1979) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the power forward and Center (basketball), center positions. Lavrinovič was a two-time All-EuroLeague Te ...
2014–2016 **
Mindaugas Lukauskis Mindaugas Lukauskis locally also known as ''the Legend'' or ''the Iron man'', (born 19 May 1979) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Lukauskis holds numerous Lithuanian Basketball League records and is the league's all-time lea ...
2003–2009, 2014–2016, 2017–2018 **
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
1999–2003 ** Kęstutis Marčiulionis 2001–2002 ** Gediminas Orelik 2013–2016 **
Marijonas Petravičius Marijonas Petravičius (born October 24, 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. He was a member of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania national team. He mainly played the center (basketball), center posi ...
2006–2009 ** Marius Prekevičius 2008–2009 **
Renaldas Seibutis Renaldas Seibutis (born July 23, 1985) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Lithuanian national team internationally. Professional career Europe In the 2010–11 season, Seibutis played for Olin Ed ...
2011–2014 **
Deividas Sirvydis Deividas Sirvydis (born 10 June 2000) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. Sirvydis was selected 37th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019 NBA dr ...
2017-2020 **
Darius Songaila Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He play ...
2013–2014 ** Kęstutis Šeštokas 2000–2003, 2004–2005 **
Ramūnas Šiškauskas Ramūnas Šiškauskas (, born September 10, 1978) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. Listed at tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a pl ...
1998–2004 ** Andrius Šležas 1997–1998, 1999–2008 **
Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...
2010–2012 ** Eurelijus Žukauskas 2006–2007 * United States: ** Marcus Foster (basketball), Marcus Foster 2022–2023, 2023–2024 **
Andrew Goudelock Andrew Darius Goudelock (born December 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard position. He played college basketball for the ...
2020–2021 ** Demetrius Jackson 2020 **
Omar Cook Omar-Sharif Cook (; born January 28, 1982) is an American-Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He represente ...
2013–2014 ** Chuck Eidson 2007–2009 **
Khalid El-Amin Khalid El-Amin (born April 25, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a member of the 1999 University of Connecticut men's basketball team that won the NCAA championship. He is originally from Minnesota, where he play ...
2010–2011 ** Drew Gordon 2016–2017 ** Fred House 2004–2006 **
Chris Kramer Christopher Scott Kramer (כריס קרמר; born April 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the Purdue University Boilermakers. Kramer participated with the 2010 Milwaukee Bucks train ...
2017–2019 ** Jimmy Baron 2017–2018 ** Travis Leslie 2014–2015 ** D. J. Seeley 2018-2019 ** David Logan 2016–2017 ** Aaron Lucas 2002–2004, 2005 **
Tyrone Nesby Tyrone Lamont Nesby (born January 31, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. During his pro club career, he spent four seasons playing in the NBA. He also played professionally in Europe. High school career Nesby ...
2004–2005 ** Hollis Price 2007–2008 ** Tyrese Rice 2011–2012 ** Lawrence Roberts 2011–2012 **
Kareem Rush Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Rush's younger brother, Brandon, last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, while older brother JaRon played college basketball for UCLA. College ...
2006–2007 ** Dickey Simpkins 2003–2004 ** Jackson Vroman 2008 * Argentina: ** Nicolás Laprovíttola 2015 * Australia: ** Aron Baynes 2009–2010 ** Brad Newley 2010–2012 ** Matthew Nielsen 2005–2008 ** Ben Madgen 2017–2018 * Bosnia and Herzegovina: ** Kenan Bajramović 2007–2008, 2010–2011 ** Haris Mujezinović 2004–2006 * Brazil: ** J. P. Batista 2006–2008 * Colombia: ** Juan Palacios 2013–2014 * Greece: **
Loukas Mavrokefalidis Loukas Mavrokefalidis (alternate spelling: Mavrokefalides) (Greek: Λουκάς Μαυροκεφαλίδης; born 25 July 1984) is a Greek professional basketball player who last played for Ionikos Nikaias of the Greek Basket League. He has also ...
2017–2018 * Latvia: ** Jānis Blūms 2006–2007, 2012–2013 **
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 ...
2004–2008 * Montenegro: ** Milko Bjelica 2008–2011 * Serbia: **
Stevan Jelovac Stevan Jelovac (; 8 July 19895 December 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player. Professional career Jelovac started his senior career with Vizura. On 25 August 2009, he signed with Mega Vizura. On 7 April 2010, he left Mega and si ...
2013–2014 **
Nemanja Nedović Nemanja Nedović ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Недовић; ; born 16 June 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He also represented the senior Serbian national basketball team in ...
2012–2013 ** Bojan Popović 2009–2010 * Belarus: **
Artsiom Parakhouski Artsiom Parakhouski (born October 6, 1987) is a Belarusian professional basketball player for Śląsk Wrocław of the PLK. Standing at , he plays at the center position. He finished his American college career in 2010 with the Radford Universit ...
2018–2019 * Senegal: **
Maurice Ndour Maurice Daly Ndour (born June 18, 1992) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Brescia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats and has represented the Senegalese national team ...
2020–2021, 2021–2022


Notable head coaches

The following head coaches won at least one major trophy when in charge of Rytas:


Statistical leaders


All-time points per game in European Cup games (PPG)

Only players with significant number of games played or points scored. Last updated: 15 November 2016


Individual awards


EuroLeague

EuroLeague MVP of the Round
EuroLeague MVP of the Month 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors
''Chosen:'' *
Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. Durin ...
''Nominated:'' *
Artūras Karnišovas Artūras Karnišovas (born April 27, 1971) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He is the current executive vice president of basketball operations of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...
''(Statyba)'' *
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...

EuroLeague Basketball 2001–10 All-Decade Team *
Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. Durin ...
*
Ramūnas Šiškauskas Ramūnas Šiškauskas (, born September 10, 1978) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. Listed at tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a pl ...


EuroCup

EuroCup Basketball MVP of the Round, EuroCup MVP of the Round EuroCup Basketball Individual Statistics, EuroCup Leaders Performance Index Rating * Fred House 23.90 ''(in 10 games)'' (2004–05 ULEB Cup, 2004–05) * Chuck Eidson 21.27 ''(in 15 games)'' (2008–09 Eurocup Basketball, 2008–09) Rebounds * Drew Gordon 9.57 ''(in 14 games)'' (2016–17 EuroCup Basketball, 2016–17) Best EuroCup coach of all time *
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...
EuroCup Basketball Awards


FIBA Champions League

Champions League MVP of the Month


Lithuanian Basketball League

LKL Finals MVP *
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
(2002, 2003) * Andrius Šležas (2006) * Chuck Eidson (2009) *
Martynas Gecevičius Martynas Gecevičius (born 16 May 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for BC Telšiai of the National Basketball League (NKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career Gecevičius deb ...
(2010) * Arnas Butkevičius (2022) * Marcus Foster (basketball), Marcus Foster (2024)


Lithuanian Basketball League

LKL Most Valuable Player Award, LKL Season MVP *
Ramūnas Šiškauskas Ramūnas Šiškauskas (, born September 10, 1978) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. Listed at tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a pl ...
(2001, 2002) * Chuck Eidson (2009) *
Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...
(2012) * Juan Palacios (2014) * Ivan Buva (2022) LKL Slam Dunk Contest, Slam Dunk Contest Champions *
Robertas Javtokas Robertas Javtokas (born March 20, 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. He most recently served as sports director of Žalgiris Kaunas. Standing at , he played the center position. He has been a member of th ...
(2000, 2001) * Aaron Lucas (2003) * Aron Baynes (2010) * Travis Leslie (2015) LKL Three-point Shootout, Three-point Shootout Champions *
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
(2000, 2002, 2003) *
Mindaugas Lukauskis Mindaugas Lukauskis locally also known as ''the Legend'' or ''the Iron man'', (born 19 May 1979) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Lukauskis holds numerous Lithuanian Basketball League records and is the league's all-time lea ...
(2018) *
Andrew Goudelock Andrew Darius Goudelock (born December 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard position. He played college basketball for the ...
(2021)


Baltic Basketball League

Final Four MVP *
Kareem Rush Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Rush's younger brother, Brandon, last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, while older brother JaRon played college basketball for UCLA. College ...
(2007) * Chuck Eidson (2009)


NEBL

Finals MVP *
Arvydas Macijauskas Arvydas Macijauskas (born 19 January 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at tall, he played at the shooting guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, he won numerous ...
(2002)


FIBA

FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991) *
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the National ...
''(Statyba)'' FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award *
Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...
(2011, 2012)


Matches against NBA teams


Video game

Lietuvos rytas basketball club was featured in the NBA 2K15 video game.„NBA 2K15“ žaidime – „Žalgiris“, „Lietuvos rytas“ ir daugybė lietuvių


References


External links

*
BC Lietuvos rytas at Euroleague.net

BC Lietuvos rytas at LKL.lt

BC Lietuvos rytas at VTB-League.com

Lietuvos rytas players stats (1997–2008)
{{Authority control BC Rytas, 1997 establishments in Lithuania Basketball teams established in 1997 Basketball teams in Lithuania Basketball in Vilnius Lietuvos rytas