Linas Kleiza

Linas Kleiza

Toronto Raptors
Small Forward-Power Forward
Personal information
Date of birth	January 3, 1985 (1985-01-03) (age 26)
Place of birth	Kaunas, Lithuania
Nationality	Lithuanian
High school	Montrose Christian School
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College	Missouri
NBA Draft	2005 / 27th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career	2005–present
League	NBA
Career history
Denver Nuggets (2005-09) Olympiacos Piraeus (2009-10) Toronto Raptors (2010-present)
Career highlights and awards
Alphonso Ford Trophy 2010
Linas Kleiza at NBA.com

Linas Kleiza (pronounced [ˈlinɐs klæiˈzɐ]; born January 3, 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. He can play either forward position. He was recently signed by the Toronto Raptors. The deal is believed to be a $18.8 million front-loaded contract over four years.^[1]

Early years

Kleiza attended the Montrose Christian School and graduated in 2003. He played on the Lithuanian Junior National Team that won the silver medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He led the tournament in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game on 58 percent shooting.^[2]

College career

Kleiza played college basketball with the University of Missouri Tigers. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by the league coaches as a sophomore. He also earned All-Tournament honors at the 2005 Big 12 Tournament after averaging 29.5 points and 9 rebounds per game.

NBA career

Denver Nuggets

Kleiza was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 27th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. The Trail Blazers then dealt his draft rights, along with Ricky Sanchez to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Jarrett Jack. Kleiza was seldom-used in his rookie season. He averaged 3.5 points and 8.5 minutes per game.

He improved on his three-point shooting in his sophomore year, making 83-221, after only making two three-pointers in his rookie year. He also saw some more time on the court and averaged 7.6 points on 42 percent shooting in 18.8 minutes per game. After the season, Denver picked up their team option on his contract for another season.

Kleiza became a big part of Denver's rotation in the 2007-08 season, mostly backing up Denver's starting small forward Carmelo Anthony. However, he was involved in a lot of trade talks, most notably a trade involving Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings.^[3] On January 17, 2008, Kleiza scored a career high 41 points against the Utah Jazz.^[4] His scoring average was up to 11.1 points per game and his shooting percentage was up to 47 percent.

Many expected Kleiza to make a similar leap in production in his fourth year in the league. However, most of his season averages were slightly off from the 2007-08 season. He averaged 9.9 points on 45 percent shooting. His minutes dwindled down in the playoffs. The Nuggets' head coach George Karl, said Kleiza played fewer minutes because he is not a playmaker.^[5]

Εuropean career

On August 10, 2009, Kleiza agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million (€8.6 million euros) gross income contract with the Greek League team Olympiacos Piraeus.^[6][7] He immediately adapted to the European basketball rules and traditions and became a leader for his team, averaging 17.2 points per game and grabbing nearly 6.4 rebounds per game. He also won the Alphonso Ford Trophy.

On July 7, 2010, Kleiza terminated his contract with Olympiacos. He was signed by the Toronto Raptors to a four-year, $20 million dollar gross income offer sheet.^[8][9][10]

Lithuanian national team

Medal record
Competitor for  Lithuania
FIBA European Championship
Bronze	2007 Spain	National Team

Kleiza has also played with the senior Lithuanian national basketball team. He played at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and he won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIBA European Championship. He also played with Lithuania at the 2008 Olympics.

Awards and accomplishments

• Gatorade High School Player of the Year: (2003)
• 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship: Silver Medal
• EuroBasket 2007: Bronze Medal
• Won the Greek Cup: (2010)
• Alphonso Ford Trophy: (2010)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

• Linas Kleiza Info Page at NBA.com
• Linas Kleiza NBA & ABA Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Euroleague.net Profile
• EuroBasket Profile
• Greek League Profile (Greek)
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• Linas Kleiza on Myspace