Basketball Club Neptūnas (), commonly known as Neptūnas or Neptūnas Klaipėda, is a Lithuanian 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
Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. The club participates 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 ...
. It was founded in 1962 under the name BC Maistas (
English: ''food'') and in 1964, BC Maistas's name was changed to BC Neptūnas. The club carries the name of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
sea god Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
. Neptūnas participated in the
2014–15 EuroLeague season and is only the third Lithuanian club to participate in the premier European basketball league, after
Žalgiris and
Rytas.
History
First steps (1962–1993)
In 1966 Neptūnas won the Žalgiris friendship championship and next year with the same roster became runners-up.
Since 1970 there have been many changes in the team: coaches and players left the team and were replaced with new team members, so the team did not achieve better results. In 1975 Klaipėda's community decided to change the team from its foundations based on people from
Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
and the
Samogitia
Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...
region, who also finished studies in the cities of
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 ...
and
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 ...
. There were young and prospective players, whose energy helped to reach better results in a period of two years, including 3rd place in Lithuanian Spartakiada; in 1981 and 1982 they became runners-up of newspaper ''Sports championship, and also in 1983 they became champions of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Professional Union championship.
Difficult start in the LKL (1993–1998)
The Lithuanian Basketball Association was founded in 1993, when eight of the strongest Lithuanian basketball clubs' officials met with the representatives of the
Šarūnas Marčiulionis basketball fund. Neptūnas was among that eight. This association would soon announce their basketball league that would start in the upcoming fall.
During the founding 1993–1994 LKL season, Neptūnas finished last, reaching only 4 victories per 36 games, despite the tireless efforts shown by Gintautas Bendžius, who averaged almost 20 points per game and was the third best scorer in the whole league. In the following season Neptūnas slightly improved, reaching 10 victories and suffering 30 defeats, with the help of a 21-year-old native
Eurelijus Žukauskas, who quickly started becoming the star of the team and later was even nicknamed the "Lithuanian king of
blocks".
In the 1995–1996 LKL season, Neptūnas progressed even further. With Svajūnas Airošius, Aloyzas Vasiliūnas, and Artūras Jakubauskas averaging double-digits in points and Eurelijus Žukauskas often adding solid
double-doubles, the team qualified into the LKL playoffs for the first time with 17 victories as the 7th seed. But they were eliminated by the Lithuanian powerhouse
Žalgiris Kaunas 0–2, after failing to guard the Lithuanian star and Olympic champion
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 averaged 25.5 points over these games.
Neptūnas continued to show progress in the 1996–1997 season, qualifying for the LKL playoffs again by accomplishing a solid 19–17 record, the first with over 50% victories ratio in the club's LKL history. Despite losing the first series game versus
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 ...
80–69, on April 4, 1997, Neptūnas achieved their first-ever victory in the LKL playoffs in a dominating fashion 88–60. Yet after Šiauliai's 88–73 revenge two days later, the series was lost 1–2. It was the last game for Eurelijus Žukauskas in a Neptūnas jersey, who, after averaging 15.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks, joined Žalgiris and soon became a
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 ...
champion and a multiple medalist with the
Lithuania men's national basketball team
The Lithuania men's national basketball team () represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania. Despite Lithuania's small ...
. Another Neptūnas leader Artūras Jakubauskas left the team as well.
Following the loss of two long-term leaders, the team failed to compete with the same form during the 1997–1998 LKL season. Neptūnas finished as the 8th seed during the regular season with a 6–12 record, but after an unsuccessful second round they finished just 9th among 10 teams. The only consolation of the season was notable progress demonstrated by an 18-year-old
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 ...
, who would later become one of the primary faces of Lithuanian basketball.
Participation in the Korać Cup (1998–2000)
The 1998–1999 season was remarkably different as on October 6, 1998, Neptūnas debuted in the
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...
, their first European tournament during a game versus the
Espoon Honka
237px, Petteri Koponen with Espoon Honka in 2007
Espoon Honka, also known as Honka Playboys, was a basketball club based in Espoo, Finland and it played in Korisliiga. The club was dissolved in 2011 due to financial difficulties.
History
Espoon ...
, which they lost 93–73. But afterwards the team, led by Svajūnas Airošius, Arūnas Seferis and Arvydas Macijauskas, finished with a 4–2 record, claimed the second place in the group and advanced into the sixteenth-finals. They were stopped at that stage by
Darüşşafaka, losing the series 0–2. Neptūnas also returned to the LKL playoffs that season after finishing 5th during the regular season. They were eliminated by
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 ...
yet again, this time 1–2. After the season, Arvydas Macijauskas signed with the
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius.
During the
1999–2000 FIBA Korać Cup season, Neptūnas had less fortune than in the previous year. They were drawn into the group H, finished with just a 1–5 record, and after taking the 3rd spot in the group did not advance further. In the LKL, Neptūnas finished 8th and failed to challenge
Žalgiris Kaunas in the first round of LKL playoffs, losing the series 0–2 with an average of 30 points difference.
First sparks in the LKL playoffs (2000–2012)
After the 1999–2000 season, Neptūnas became a constant LKL playoffs participant, though at first they were unable to overcome the quarter-finals barrier. During the 2000–2001 LKL season, Neptūnas, led by one of the LKL's best scorer and playmaker
Vidas Ginevičius (19.59 points, 4.32 assists per game), finished in a desired 3rd seed during the regular season, but was shockingly eliminated 0–2 by the
Alita Alytus in the quarter-final. During the following 2001–2002 LKL season, Neptūnas triumphed just 10 times per 32 games, but that was enough to qualify for the LKL playoffs as the 8th seed, although they were quickly wiped out 0–2 by an uprising Lithuanian powerhouse
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius, led by young and hungry
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Simas Jasaitis,
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 ...
and a former Neptūnas player Arvydas Macijauskas. The 2002–2003 LKL season was only slightly different; this time the Neptūnas squad finished 6th in the regular season, but yet again was smashed 0–2 in the quarter-final by
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 ...
, in spite of all of
Tomas Delininkaitis's efforts. In the 2003–2004 season, Neptūnas reached the all-time bottom by winning just 6 times per 36 games and finishing last in the league (10th), including an absolutely disastrous 22 game losing streak.

The 2004–2005 season was a bit more positive page in the club's history. During it, Neptūnas finished 4th during the regular LKL season and advanced to the TOP 5 teams of the league group, however Neptūnas was once again eliminated by BC Šiauliai in the knockout stage 1–2 and finished 5th in the final rankings. During the 2005 LKL All-Star Day, Petras Šalvis won the club's third
LKL Three-point Shootout title. The team also participated 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 ...
Elite Division for the first time as well, finishing 5th. Neptūnas slightly regressed again in the following 2005–2006 season, finishing 6th during the regular LKL season and, as previously, lost the first round of the LKL playoffs to BC Šiauliai 0–2 and finished only 10th in the BBL, with the only consolations being the club's fourth LKL Three-point Shootout title captured by Marius Kasiulevičius and the club's first-ever LKL Slam Dunk Contest champion title by Antonio Grant.
In the 2006–2007 season, Neptūnas finished 3rd during the regular LKL season for the second time in the club's history. Furthermore, they also finally sailed through the quarter-final stage of the LKL playoffs by overcoming the
Nevėžis Kėdainiai 2–0. But Neptūnas' journey was again stopped by Lietuvos rytas at semi-finals 0–2, and Neptūnas qualified for their first historical LKL bronze final. The aspiration for the first-ever LKL medal was crushed by gallingly losing the series 0–3 to BC Šiauliai, with two home games being lost by just three and two points. In BBL, the team finished 2 places lower than in the previous season (12th).
Before the 2007–2008 season, Neptūnas signed with 19-year-old
Deividas Gailius, who would soon lead Neptūnas during some of the club's most historic moments. However that season the team did not have much luck on the court. They ended up 5th during the regular LKL season and were once more eliminated in the quarter-final, this time by
BC Alytus 1–2. The first series game, which could have made the series completely opposite, was dramatically lost by just three points in
Alytus
Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...
. Moreover, Neptūnas disappointingly finished only 16th in the BBL Elite Division. This was the club's worst and the last appearance in the elite division of the league.
The first part of the 2008–2009 LKL season finished almost identically when the club finished as the 5th seed, however the playoffs were drastically different. Neptūnas overcame the LKL quarter-final for the second time in history, beating Nevėžis 2–1. And after losing the semi-final to Žalgiris 0–2, Neptūnas returned to the bronze final for another try where they yet again faced a long-term rival BC Šiauliai. Despite the militant efforts and the thirst for a long-awaited revenge, the series was lost 2–3 following another dramatic defeat of 73–80 in
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 ...
, with
Valdas Vasylius and
Arvydas Eitutavičius scoring more than half of the team's points (45).
In the 2009–2010 LKL season, Neptūnas, led by a future team's manager Osvaldas Kurauskas, clinched the 5th spot during the regular season for a third straight year and was eliminated by the
Juventus Utena 0–2 in the quarter-final. The 2010–2011 LKL regular season achieved just one less victory than the previous season, however this resulted in finishing only 8th and facing off the upcoming champions
Žalgiris Kaunas in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless of being smashed 61–96 in
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 ...
during the first series encounter, the team, led by a captain
Martynas Mažeika, mightily fought in their home arena, this time losing only 82–88. Nevertheless, with the
Švyturys Arena being built in the city, the historical victories and achievements were yet to come.
Historical victories and achievements (2012–2016)
2012–13 season: VTB United League debut
2012 was a memorable year for Neptūnas as they were invited to
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 ...
, despite the fact that they only took 6th place in
LKL the previous season. Club director Osvaldas Kurauskas said that they are not going to be group outsiders and that they will raise the club's budget for the next season. Neptūnas debuted in
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 ...
on October 7, 2012, against
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
. Despite a powerful opponent Neptūnas won two quarters by one point (23–22, 14–13), however it was not enough to win the game as Neptūnas lost 72–83. After the season 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 ...
, they were last in the group, however they were invited to continue playing in this league for another season. Despite poor results in the VTB League, where they finished with a dismal 3–15 record, Neptūnas recovered in the LKL, thanks to very solid play from leader
Deividas Gailius, finishing 3rd and winning the bronze medals for the first time in club history, in a competitive series against
BC Prienai, winning 3–2.
2013–14 season: First time LKL finalists
The 2013–14 season was not less memorable for Neptūnas. During the regular season, Neptūnas defeated
LKL champion and constant
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 ...
participant
Žalgiris Kaunas several times, with the results 81–73 at
Švyturys Arena and 79–88 at
Žalgiris Arena
Žalgirio Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Centras (Kaunas), New Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. The arena is located on an island of the Nemunas River and is the largest indoor arena in Baltic states, the Baltics. The arena's maximum poss ...
. In the regular
LKL season Neptūnas took third place and met
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 ...
in the quarter-finals, who they eliminated with a series result of 2–1. Neptūnas also won the semi-finals against
Prienai TonyBet with a result of 2-0 and qualified to the LKL finals for the first time in club history. In the finals Neptūnas met previously defeated Žalgiris. Despite two former victories during the regular season, basketball experts were widely skeptical that Neptūnas could win any games there. Nevertheless, the militant Neptūnas showed that they can fight against Žalgiris and won their first LKL final series game with a 71–59 score in crammed Švyturys Arena, however then Neptūnas lost three games to Žalgiris and almost lost all the chances of winning the series. In spite of that, Neptūnas did not give up and won the fifth series game with a score of 87–86, however they failed to do that again in the sixth series game and after being crushed 90–70, lost the LKL final series with a result of 4–2. Despite a sufficiently successful LKL season, Neptūnas had tough times in international competitions. In the
second-tier European league
EuroCup Neptūnas won four games out of ten and after taking fifth place of sixth in the group did not qualify into the second stage. Neptūnas also participated in
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 ...
, however there, after winning five of eighteen games, Neptūnas did not qualify into the playoffs and took eighth place out of ten in the group. Following the best LKL season in club history, on June 25, 2014, Neptūnas was invited to join 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 ...
as an LKL vice-champion for the
2014–15 season.
2014–15 season: EuroLeague debut
Before their debut in the EuroLeague, Neptūnas recalled former team leader
Deividas Gailius. Multiple
LKL champion
Donatas Zavackas
Donatas Zavackas (born 23 April 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player, who is the sports director for Wolves Twinsbet of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup. He played college basketball at ...
and
UBL champion
Michailas Anisimovas were signed as well. However, Anisimovas left the team shortly afterward without debuting in the EuroLeague due to the
Russo-Ukrainian war
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
. On October 15, 2014, Neptūnas played their first EuroLeague game against the
Laboral Kutxa, which they lost 69–88 despite playing more than two quarters point-to-point. On October 23, 2014, Neptūnas achieved the club's first EuroLeague victory against
KK Crvena zvezda
Košarkaški klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Црвена звезда, ), usually referred to as KK Crvena zvezda or simply Crvena zvezda, currently named Crvena zvezda Meridianbet for sponsorship reasons, is a men ...
with a score of 83–81 after the
Valdas Vasylius winning shot 3 seconds away from over-time. This was the first EuroLeague game played in the Neptūnas home-court. On October 31, 2014, Neptūnas lost their third EuroLeague game only after
OT 81–85 against one of the strongest tournament teams,
Olympiacos Piraeus, two times EuroLeague champion over the past three years. Despite being competitive and cherishing a chance of qualifying for the TOP16 stage, Neptūnas failed to accomplish this in their debut EuroLeague season, winning 4 games of 10 total and taking 5th place in the group. It was just one step from the TOP16's qualifier
Galatasaray, who also finished with a 4–10 record. As a result, Neptūnas was transferred to the
EuroCup Last 32 stage. The EuroCup was just a terrible place for Neptūnas. There they won only once against
Paris-Levallois Basket, suffered five defeats and took last place in the group. A promising season in international competitions was finished painfully.
On February 20–22, Neptūnas participated in the
2015 LKF Cup. They surprisingly lost the quarter-finals game to
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 ...
71–73 and ended the appearance in competition early.
Neptūnas recovered in the LKL, playing very solidly, even splitting the season series with Žalgiris. They defeated the Lithuanian powerhouse twice in two weeks: 67–65 in Klaipėda and 90–86 in Kaunas.
Deividas Gailius led Neptūnas during these two games. But they took only the third spot during the regular season due to the unfavorable results versus
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 ...
. Neptūnas defeated
Dzūkija
Dzūkija () or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a poli ...
with the series result of 3–1, losing only once in
Alytus
Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...
56–65. The semi-finals began unsuccessfully for the team versus Lietuvos rytas. Despite holding up close to the opponents the whole game, Neptūnas lost during the final minutes 88–79 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 ...
. But Neptūnas, led by Deividas Gailius (22 points) and
Arnas Butkevičius (20 points), successfully got revenge in Klaipėda, overcoming Rytas 107–101 after
OT. The semi-final series was tied at 1–1. But Neptūnas lost another thriller 96–89 two days later in Vilnius and ended up on the edge of the precipice. Furthermore, primary Neptūnas center
Simas Galdikas suffered a painful leg injury, after stepping on
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 ...
's feet. Despite that, the team's coach Kazys Maksvytis said that "we will meet in Vilnius again". This promise did not came true following the 87–92 loss at home. Neptūnas lost the semi-final series 3–1 to Lietuvos rytas. And then Neptūnas suffered the biggest fiasco of the season. They shockingly lost to
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 LKL bronze medals series 2–3, including an embarrassing defeat in the decisive game 69–84 in the home arena.
Neptūnas had the highest attendance rate in all of LKL during this season (3,022 spectators per game).
2015–16 season: Second EuroCup season

Following the lost LKL semi-final and the bronze final last season, Neptūnas did not automatically qualify into the
EuroCup. But on June 29, 2015, they received the wild card to the tournament. For the first time in history, three Lithuanian basketball clubs were invited to participate in the second-tier European league. Krasta Auto (authorized
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
dealer in
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
) became one of the club sponsors, giving brand-new cars for the club members.
Neptūnas began the summer by losing former leader
Deividas Gailius, who signed with
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius. Gailius was replaced with one of the last season
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 ...
leaders
Arvydas Šikšnius. Furthermore, former Juventus head coach
Dainius Adomaitis signed a two-year deal with Neptūnas as well. Past
Lithuania men's national basketball team
The Lithuania men's national basketball team () represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania. Despite Lithuania's small ...
head coach
Kęstutis Kemzūra, Olympic champion
Valdemaras Chomičius, Lithuania national team head coach assistant
Darius Maskoliūnas and
Gediminas Petrauskas were other solid candidates to replace
Kazys Maksvytis. Neptūnas captain
Martynas Mažeika signed a new two-year contract with the club. It was his 11th season at Neptūnas.
Vytautas Šarakauskas and
Simas Galdikas stayed with Neptūnas as well, both signing two-year contracts with the club. One of
BK Ventspils's leaders
Jerai Grant became the club's first foreigner in the summer of 2015.
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...
graduate
Gilvydas Biruta, who represented the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
during the
2015 NBA Summer League
The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...
, also joined BC Neptūnas. Three times
Polish league champion and experienced
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 ...
player
Daniel Ewing became Neptūnas' main
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
on August 15, 2015. Neptūnas also signed multiple
NCAA three-pointers record holder Travis Bader to strengthen the
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
position.
On October 14, 2015, the new
2015–16 EuroCup season began with a loss to the powerful
Galatasaray S.K. squad 90–94 in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
. The second game versus the
Hapoel Jerusalem was not successful either, losing it 74–59. But afterwards the team began showing a very solid form. They won 6 of 7 games, including the noteworthy away games victories versus the
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 ...
78–82 and
Galatasaray S.K. 76–82, both of them being EuroLeague Top 16 participants
last season. During the last match of the regular season versus the
AEK, Neptūnas was even able to guarantee the first place in the group, but after dissipating a 16-point advantage in the third quarter, lost it 75–71 and finished second. Just before the start of the EuroCup's Last 32 stage,
Trent Plaisted replaced
Simas Galdikas. Despite a very successful first stage, the Last 32 phase began with a desperate loss to
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect
* ...
84–58 in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. However, the team then created a feast in Klaipėda, defeating
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 ...
73–65. Following it, Neptūnas suffered two close defeats to the Italian powerhouse
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (79–71 in Milan and 73–74 in Klaipėda). The pleasant 72–68 rematch with Aris left the Neptūnas hopes for the playoffs alive, though it vanished after losing to Alba 62–76 in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and finishing with a 2–4 record in the second round.
On 19–21 February, Neptūnas competed in the newly formed
Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė tournament. The team easily overcame
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 ...
96–58 at the quarter-final, but was powerfully stopped at the semi-final by the upcoming champions
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius 97–79. Still, they rehabilitated by winning the club's first Lithuanian Cup bronze medals after crushing
Vytautas Prienai-Birštonas 88–51. Shortly after the competition, Gilvydas Biruta was replaced with
Angus Brandt.
In
LKL, Neptūnas finished the regular season with a third seed and a 19–17 record.
Švyturys Arena had the most spectators in the LKL for a second straight season, this time with 3,474 per game. In the quarter-final, Neptūnas eliminated
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. The semi-final series versus
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius was one of the most dramatic in the league's history. Neptūnas began it by shocking Rytas in their home arena with an 83–71 victory. Afterwards, the team also secured their home court in Game 2, winning 70–68. The fate of the historic series was to be determined in Game 5, following two dramatic Rytas victories: 66–64 and 74–73. During Game 5,
Daniel Ewing led Neptūnas to another stunning upset of the Lithuanian powerhouse 73–72, surprisingly won the intense series 3–2, and advanced into the LKL final just for a second time in club history. The final series was begun with an 83–72 loss to
Žalgiris Kaunas. Just three days later, Neptūnas by surprise swept Žalgiris 76–54 to tie the series 1–1. In spite of that, later Neptūnas failed to compete in the series, losing the next three games by an average of 25 points and the series 1–4.
Basketball Champions League participants (2016–2020)
2016–17 season: Basketball Champions League debut
On October 21, 2016, Neptūnas decided to choose the FIBA
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. On July 10, Neptūnas re-signed with the efficient center
Jerai Grant for another season. On July 27,
Larry Drew II, son of the prominent
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 and coach
Larry Drew, joined the team to replace
Daniel Ewing who left the team. On August 4, former
Lithuania men's national basketball team
The Lithuania men's national basketball team () represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania. Despite Lithuania's small ...
member
Tadas Klimavičius signed a two-seasons deal with the club. On August 10,
Matas Jucikas signed a long-term (three-seasons) deal. On August 24, another Lithuanian,
Mindaugas Kačinas, fresh out of the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
US college basketball system at
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, was signed. On August 26,
Jimmy Baron became the last addition to the team's roster before the beginning of the season. On November 3, the front line was strengthened with
Omari Johnson.
On October 19, Neptūnas started the
2016–17 Basketball Champions League season with a close 67–65 away victory over
Uşak Sportif. Neptūnas ended up as the second team in the group, with a 10–4 record and a first round playoff bye.
In January, Tadas Klimavičius left after terminating his contract and signed with
BC Vytautas. While the Klimavičius departure was not as significant, team star and leader Jimmy Baron signed with
BC Lietuvos rytas
Basketball Club Rytas, commonly referred to as Rytas Vilnius, is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the top tier of Basketball in Lit ...
in February, shocking both the team and its fans. On February 10, just one day after Baron's departure, the team released Drew and Johnson, after reported discipline violations. Club director and longtime former player Osvaldas Kurauskas was fired as well. The departures affected the team, who were easily defeated in the first round of the
King Mindaugas Cup by
BC Žalgiris
Basketball Club Žalgiris () commonly known as BC Žalgiris, is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (''Lietuvos krepšinio lyga'') and ...
58–81. However, by the end of February, good news struck the team - Daniel Ewing returned to Neptūnas from Israel, replacing Larry Drew at the point guard position, and Neptūnas also signed
Chris Lofton to a deal, to replace Jimmy Baron. The changes did not help the team in the Champions League, ending with a loss on aggregate to
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the quarterfinals 119–125 (61–73 away and 58–52 home).
While the season was over in the Champions League, Neptūnas went on a win streak in the LKL, climbing up the standings. They finished the regular season in fourth seed with 21 victories and 15 defeats balance. During the
2016–17 LKL Playoffs quarter-final Neptūnas eliminated
Juventus Utena 3–0, and advanced into the semi-finals where they faced Lithuanian champions
Žalgiris Kaunas. Game 1 of the series did not provide much intrigue in
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 ...
, with Žalgiris desperately crushing Neptūnas 83–54. The view was completely different during Game 2 in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
where Neptūnas defeated Žalgiris 73–70 to even the series 1–1. In Kaunas, Žalgiris won again, 83–60 and finished the series in Klaipėda, where Neptūnas lost the game 53–69 and the series 1–3. During the LKL bronze final Neptūnas faced
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for the intense series. Both teams successfully defended their home courts with Neptūnas losing the opening game on May 29, 2017, in Vilnius 79–60, but winning 83–70 on June 1 in Klaipėda. Later the series continued in the same order with Lietuvos rytas defeating Neptūnas 71–54 for the second time in Vilnius on June 4, and Neptūnas doing the same 70–65 in Klaipėda on June 7 to force the Game 5 of the series. Neptūnas lost the series on June 10 in Vilnius after losing the crucial game 75–66 and the series 3–2, mostly because of two former Neptūnas players
Jimmy Baron and
Deividas Gailius who combined for more than a half of Rytas' points (39). A very promising season at the beginning ended on a very disappointing note.
2017–18 season: Second Basketball Champions League season

On June 28, 2017, it was announced that Neptūnas will compete in the
2017–18 Basketball Champions League season without participating in the qualifying tournament. On the same day former head coach
Kazys Maksvytis returned to the team, replacing the newly chosen
Lithuania men's national basketball team
The Lithuania men's national basketball team () represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania. Despite Lithuania's small ...
head coach
Dainius Adomaitis due to the difficulties to match two coaching positions.
Edgaras Želionis became club's first player addition for the upcoming season on July 5, 2017. Afterwards, the team has signed two long-term Lithuania national team members
Tomas Delininkaitis and
Renaldas Seibutis. On July 27, 2017, Neptūnas reached an agreement with
Laimonas Kisielius and signed a two-years deal. On August 10, 2017, the team signed
Juan Palacios to replace
Jerai Grant. On August 14, 2017, former team member
Simas Galdikas returned to the team. Due to the departure of the previous long-term captain
Martynas Mažeika, Simas Galdikas was chosen to replace him in the position.
On September 21, 2017, Neptūnas began the
2017–18 LKL season by defeating
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 ...
73–82. On the next day,
Malcolm Armstead, known for his scoring ability, was signed. After a solid 5–1 LKL season start, including a 73–64 victory versus the reigning champions
Žalgiris Kaunas, on October 10, 2017, Neptūnas successfully started the
2017–18 Basketball Champions League season with a last seconds 75–73 victory over the
French League champions
Élan Chalon
Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...
. On October 25, 2017, Malcolm Armstead was replaced with
Jerry Johnson due to his poor sport form. On November 1, 2017, Neptūnas crushed
Gaziantep Basketbol during the Champions League away game 114–73 and achieved their highest victory in the history of the tournament. More wins followed - a dominating away against
Betaland Capo d'Orlando 90–60, and a home win against
P.A.O.K. BC
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
- 82–69. Neptūnas also picked up home wins over
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius 81–76 and
Lietkabelis Panevėžys 86–76, and moved up to 2nd place in the LKL standings. However, financial problems surfaced - Neptūnas was badly beaten in the Champions League by defending league champion
Iberostar Tenerife 67–90, and lost team leaders
Mindaugas Girdžiūnas and
Arnas Butkevičius, who left the team to sign with Lietuvos rytas. On December 14, 2017, team manager Artūras Žalys was fired and was replaced by a prominent Lithuanian basketball agent Virginijus Bulotas. This proved to be false, as the man that wanted to hire Bulotas, Artūras Jakubauskas, was fired and was replaced by Giedrius Vasilkevičius. Sigitas Ambrazevičius became the new team owner. After some more bad news - Palacios leaving for
Beşiktaş J.K., some good news arrived - Neptūnas signed
Vytautas Šulskis and new point guard Brandon Fields, who replaced the departed Girdžiūnas. In the second round of the Champions League, Neptūnas struggled - they lost to Élan Chalon 81–86, but won the away game against Ventspils 84–69 (Neptūnas had won at home 87–80 in the first round). Neptūnas suffered their first loss of the season at home against
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 71–87 (Neptūnas lost the first round away game 83–95). In an away game against Gaziantep, Neptūnas were down by double digits for most of the game - but managed to force overtime, and lost 94–98 after coach Maksvytis got ejected. After a dominating home win against Betaland Capo d'Orlando 99–62, Neptūnas lost the final two games of the regular season against P.A.O.K. 70–91 in Thessaloniki and against Iberostar at home, 67–83. Neptūnas finished the regular season with a 7–7 record, but made the playoffs. On February 13, Neptūnas suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of the season, losing to
BC Dzūkija 77–85 in the quarterfinals of the
King Mindaugas Cup. The loss was especially painful, because the final four of the tournament was held in Klaipėda. In the Champions League playoffs, Neptūnas suffered another heartbreak, losing the
SIG Basket
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 ...
on aggregate 151–158, winning the first match at home 73–68, but losing a thriller at Strasbourg in overtime, 78–88. In the LKL, Neptūnas rebounded and defeated Lietuvos rytas 99–86 in Vilnius, thus showing signs of improved play. Neptūnas then signed center
Jameel McKay, to help the team in the LKL. McKay, however, played poorly and was released in May.
Neptūnas finished 3rd in the regular season in the LKL, and defeated
BC Pieno žvaigždės
BC Pieno žvaigždės () was a professional basketball club from Pasvalys, Lithuania. Founded in 1999, the team competed in the top-tier Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) for 13 seasons from 2011 to 2024. The club name c ...
3–1 in the quarterfinals, including a dominating 101–64 win in the deciding game four in Pasvalys. Neptūnas faced rival
BC Lietuvos rytas
Basketball Club Rytas, commonly referred to as Rytas Vilnius, is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the top tier of Basketball in Lit ...
in the semifinal. After winning the first game 84–79 in Vilnius and taking the series lead, Neptūnas had one of the worst shooting performances of all time, losing 49–67 in Klaipėda, with Rytas tying the series 1–1. Rytas then won the third game in Vilnius 74–67, and took a 2–1 lead in the series. Led by Želionis, Seibutis, Delininkaitis and Galdikas, Neptūnas tied the series with a 74–70 win in Klaipėda. In the decisive fifth game in Vilnius, Neptūnas lost a close game 82–88, and lost the series 2–3. In the series for 3rd place, Neptūnas faced previous year's finalist,
BC 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 ...
. Having home court advantage, Neptūnas started the series with an embarrassing 69–83 loss - Lietkabelis had led by 29 points at one point and only when young players like
Matas Jucikas and
Laurynas Beliauskas were in, did Neptūnas cut the deficit. Down 0–1 in the series, Neptūnas was down for much of the game in Panevėžys, including an 11-point deficit in the 2nd quarter, before coming from behind and winning the game 71–69, after a last second layup by Seibutis. The series was tied 1–1. In the third game at home, Neptūnas took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 79–71 and taking a 2–1 series lead. In the fourth game in Panevėžys, Neptūnas started slowly, but led by Želionis, who scored 27 points in the game, Delininkaitis and Johnson, took the lead by half-time, and went on to win the game 89–78, winning the series 3–1 and winning the bronze medals for the second time in club history. After all the turmoil all season long, the win helped the team finish the season on a high.
2018–19 season: Third Basketball Champions League season
After the season ended, Neptūnas entered the off-season with uncertainty. Team leaders Seibutis and Želionis departed, and players like Fields, Johnson, Šulskis and Kačinas were released. Coach Maksvytis remained with the team, and all the chaos with the management was sorted out. Neptūnas signed
Paulius Dambrauskas and
Lorenzo Williams from rival BC Lietkabelis, as the new point guards. Neptūnas then signed back
Jerai Grant, who returned after a one-year absence, at center. Žalgiris loaned Neptūnas
Gytis Masiulis, one of the team's top prospects, to get more playing time. Neptūnas also signed
Osvaldas Olisevičius, the leader of
BC Pieno žvaigždės
BC Pieno žvaigždės () was a professional basketball club from Pasvalys, Lithuania. Founded in 1999, the team competed in the top-tier Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) for 13 seasons from 2011 to 2024. The club name c ...
, to a one-year deal.
Kyle Weaver signed with Neptūnas in August. Neptūnas showed a lot of promise during the pre-season, winning a couple of tournaments. On January 14, 2019,
Deividas Gailius returned to Neptūnas, signing for the rest of the season. On April 4, 2019, Weaver was released by Neptūnas.
Neptūnas started the
2018–19 LKL season with a 100–76 home win over
BC Nevėžis. On October 14, Neptūnas shocked champions
BC Žalgiris
Basketball Club Žalgiris () commonly known as BC Žalgiris, is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (''Lietuvos krepšinio lyga'') and ...
with a dominating 75–60 win in Kaunas, and climbed to first place in the LKL standings. On November 3, Neptūnas picked up another shocking away win, beating rivals
BC Rytas in Vilnius, 78–66. The seven game win streak ended on November 18, in a home defeat against BC Rytas, 78–93, also losing the 1st place in the standings to Žalgiris. Neptūnas recovered from the loss by crushing rival
BC 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 ...
100–76 in Panevėžys, tying Rytas for second place in the standings. On January 6, the first game of the new year, Neptūnas shocked Žalgiris again, this time winning a double overtime thriller at home, 98–93. This win helped Neptūnas retain the second place over Rytas in the standings. A shocking loss to
BC Pieno žvaigždės
BC Pieno žvaigždės () was a professional basketball club from Pasvalys, Lithuania. Founded in 1999, the team competed in the top-tier Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) for 13 seasons from 2011 to 2024. The club name c ...
at home, 77–80, lead to Neptūnas giving the spot up to Rytas. Neptūnas returned to the second place the next week, after Rytas suffered a loss themselves. On March 3, Neptūnas shocked Žalgiris again, with an 81–71 win at home, and becoming the first team in since 2014 to beat Žalgiris in a season series. The win helped Neptūnas retain second place in the standings over Rytas. On March 30, however, after a very poor fourth quarter, Neptūnas lost to Rytas in Vilnius, 52–70, and lost the second place to Rytas. On April 11, Neptūnas picked up a dominating home win over Rytas, 89–74, continuing the battle for second place. An 8-game win streak followed, and even after an 80–90 loss to Žalgiris on May 9 snapped it, Neptūnas had already secured second place and homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Neptūnas finished with a 28–8 record. Neptūnas defeated
SkyCop Prienai 2–1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Neptūnas faced rivals Rytas. Having homecourt advantage for the first time, Neptūnas started the series at home – however, Neptūnas played the worst game of the season, with Rytas taking a lead at halftime, and increasing it by the end, taking a 75–46 win in Klaipėda, with Neptūnas even hearing boos from the fans. In the second game, Neptūnas desperately needed the win, to take the series back to Klaipėda - in a tension filled match, where team captain Galdikas even received an ejection, Neptūnas started poorly, with Rytas taking a huge lead at halftime. By the end, Neptūnas was only able to cut down the deficit – 70-83 and a very disappointing 0–2 loss. In the 3rd place series, Neptūnas faced Lietkabelis, in a rematch from last season, which Neptūnas won, and the
King Mindaugas Cup of 2019, where Neptūnas lost. Neptūnas won the series 3–0, with wins at home 89-77 and 84–77, and away 88–75.
At the star of the
2018–19 Basketball Champions League, Neptūnas lost to
Virtus Bologna
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
in an away game, 78–83. Neptūnas got their first win by defeating
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan 78–63 at home the next week. After a hard-fought away loss to
B.C. 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 ...
, 89–91, Neptūnas rebounded by scoring two wins - a home victory and revenge over
SIG Strasbourg 92–83, and finally, an away win against
KK Olimpija
Košarkarski klub Olimpija () was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They have played in two differen ...
, 97–88, being led by Jerai Grant and a resurgent Delininkaitis. The win streak was stopped at home by
Promitheas Patras B.C., with Neptūnas losing the match 82–83 after some turnovers in the end. In the final game of the first round, Neptūnas suffered one of the worst losses in European competitions, losing to
Medi Bayreuth
Medi Bayreuth, official stylized as medi bayreuth, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bayreuth, Germany. It was re-founded as BBC Bayreuth in 1999. The team plays in the ProA, the second-highest division of basketball in Ge ...
78–102 in an away loss, finishing with a 3–4 record. Neptūnas recovered at the start of the second round, handing Virtus their first loss in the competition with an 88–85 home win. In Istanbul, Neptūnas lost to Beşiktaş 70–77. Another heartbreaking loss to Oostende, this time at home, 77–79, plummeted Neptūnas to a disastrous 7th place in the standings. However, Neptūnas recovered - sparked by the return of Gailius, Neptūnas finished the regular season with four consecutive wins - an away win over SIG Strasbourg 90–80, a home win over KK Olimpija 82–74, getting revenge over Promitheas Patras with a dominating 82–69 away victory, and defeating Medi Bayeruth 83–73 at home, finishing with an 8–6 record. After Oostende lost at home to SIG, Neptūnas qualified to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and finished 3rd in standings. In the playoffs, Neptūnas faced
Hapoel Jerusalem, one of the top teams in the competition. In the first game at home, Neptūnas lost 74–86. In the rematch, Neptūnas lost 64–84, losing the series on aggregate 138–170.
2019–20 season
The third-place finish helped Neptūnas directly qualify for the
2019-20 Basketball Champions League. Coach Maksvytis, team leader Grant, Williams, Dambrauskas, Bieliauskas, Kisielius and Mikalauskas left during the summer. Assistant coach
Tomas Rinkevičius was named as Maksvytis replacement. Neptūnas signed
Andre Williamson as the new center to replace Grant, while
Darrin Dorsey was a replacement for Williams as the new point guard.
Žygimantas Janavičius was also signed to strengthen the point guard position. Masiulis was loaned for one more season by Žalgiris, while another Euroleague team,
Kirilobet Baskonia, loaned
Tadas Sedekerskis for Neptūnas.
Matas Jogėla signed just before the season started. Team veterans Gailius and Delininkaitis remained with the team. Neptūnas won the
Vladas Garastas Cup, defeating
BC Dnipro 75–63 in the finals, which also served as the club's 55 year anniversary tournament. Longtime captain
Martynas Mažeika returned to the team in January.
Neptūnas started off the
2019–20 LKL season by defeating
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 ...
80–67 at home. Neptūnas struggled in the LKL, and in February, with an 11–9 record and 5th place in the standings, and an early exit in the Champions League also, replaced coach Rinkevičius with assistant
Jurica Žuža. Under Žuža, Neptūnas qualified for the
King Mindaugas Cup, by beating
BC Dzūkija 92–89 away and 73–72 at home, avenging the loss in 2018, and qualifying for the Final Four tournament, held on Neptūnas homecourt
Švyturio Arena. Despite promising statements from the management and coach Žuža, the tournament ended with Neptūnas finishing in a disappointing 4th place, suffering a blowout loss in the semifinals to
BC Rytas 71–96, and a loss in the 3rd place game to
BC 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 ...
, 73–84. Coach Žuža was then replaced by the coach of the reserve team
Neptūnas-Akvaservis,
Tomas Gaidamavičius. 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 was ended prematurely, with Neptūnas finishing in 4th place.
In the Basketball Champions League, Neptūnas defeated
Happy Casa Brindisi 81–71 in the home opener. In the second game, Neptūnas faced
JDA Dijon, also at home - despite the best efforts from Neptūnas, JDA Dijon took a huge lead at halftime, and won the game 89–75. Tied at 1-1, Neptūnas won the first away game of the tournament, beating
PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
94–72 in Thessaloniki. Neptūnas then defeated
Casademont Zaragoza 91–73 at home. Neptūnas lost to
Telekom Baskets Bonn
Telekom Baskets Bonn is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball league in Germany. The club's s ...
, 85–97, in an away game. Neptūnas finished the first round with a home win over
Beşiktaş J.K. 86–80, and an away loss to
Falco KC, 73–97, tied for 3rd place with a 4–3 record. The second round, however, ended up with failure - Neptūnas suffered away losses to both Brindisi and JDA Dijon, 82–96 and 71–92, a very painful home loss to PAOK 80–86, and lost to Casademonet Zaragoza, 70–86, losing 5 consecutive games for the first time in the competition. While Neptūnas defeated Telekom Baskets 93–68 at home, an away loss to Beşiktaş, 69–76, ended any hope for Neptūnas to reach the playoffs, for the first time since joining the competition. Neptūnas finished the competition with a win at home over Falco KC, 87–83, finishing 6th with a 6–8 record.
The pandemic difficulties (2020–present)
2020–21 season
Neptūnas faced off with the financial difficulties when the rest of the 2019–20 season was cancelled 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 ...
, therefore the club formed its next season roster mostly from young Lithuanian players and had no foreign players. Starting the 2020–21 season, Neptūnas participated in the
2020–21 Basketball Champions League season Qualification Group D, where it defeated the
London Lions 77–73 in the semi-finals, however the team failed to qualify to the regular season after losing the qualification final to the
BC Tsmoki-Minsk 69–59, and played only in the Lithuanian League. In the LKL, Neptūnas became the surprise team of the year. Under coach
Tomas Gaidamavičius, the young team with some veteran leadership, led by players like
Martynas Mažeika,
Žygimantas Janavičius and
Matas Jogėla, were in playoff contention all season long.
Benas Griciūnas,
Evaldas Šaulys,
Džiugas Slavinskas, among others, also had good seasons.
Deividas Gailius returned near the end of the season to Neptūnas, immediately becoming the team leader and leading Neptūnas to the 6th seed in the regular season. In the playoffs, Neptūnas also nearly upset the heavily favored
Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the playoffs, and while getting swept in the playoffs, gave Neptūnas fans hope for the future. In the
King Mindaugas Cup, Neptūnas also reached the semifinals.
2021–22 season
Before the 2021–2022 season, Neptūnas largely kept the same core as in the previous season, re-signed Deividas Gailius, and also signed the returning
Edgaras Želionis, one of the best players for Neptūnas back in the 2017–2018 season. Neptūnas, having higher expectations for the season, expected to continue where they left off the previous season. However, the season began disastrously for Neptūnas. By December, Neptūnas was coming off a losing streak, which included many blow-out loses, and was out of playoff contention in the LKL. Needing changes, coach Gaidamavičius was released by Neptūnas, and in a surprising move,
Dainius Adomaitis returned as the head coach of Neptūnas. Neptūnas regained their form - in the LKL, by April, Neptūnas had risen up to the 7th seed in the standings. Neptūnas finished the LKL regular season with a memorable 93–88 win over
Rytas Vilnius in the regular season final. In the playoffs, Neptūnas faced
Žalgiris Kaunas, now coached by former Neptūnas head coach
Kazys Maksvytis. Neptūnas surprised all critics – they managed to stretch the series out to all five games, with Žalgiris winning 92-88 and 87–71 in Kaunas, and Neptūnas winning 70-68 and 87–78 in Klaipėda, and only in the deciding fifth game did Žalgiris finish off Neptūnas, 89–60 in Kaunas, to win the series 3–2. Gailius and
Benas Griciūnas, along with the biggest surprise of the series,
Nojus Mineikis, all shined during the series. After the season, Adomaitis once again left Neptūnas.
In the
King Mindaugas Cup, Neptūnas dominated the group stage, and came close to eliminating future LKL finalists,
BC 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 ...
- Lietkabelis were the heavy favorites, but a narrow win in Klaipėda, 73–69, barely saved them from elimination as Neptūnas lead for most of the game in Panevėžys - where Lietkabelis had very few losses all season - before finishing the game with an 80–80 tie - the tie meaning Lietkabelis advancing on aggregrate, 153–149. Lietkabelis later went all the way to the finals, where they lost to Žalgiris.
2022–present
During the summer, coach Adomaitis left the team. Neptūnas decided to promote assistant coach
Mindaugas Brazys to the head coaching position. Neptūnas rebuilt much of the team. Neptūnas initially struggled during the beginning of the season, going 0–4 at the start of the LKL season, before strong play from players like the returning
Mindaugas Girdžiūnas,
Deividas Gailius, career seasons from
Matas Jogėla and
Oskaras Pleikys,
Austin Wiley, the best of the new arrivals, brought Neptūnas back to LKL playoff contention, and having competitive matches against all top LKL teams. Neptūnas finished the regular season with a 16–17 record, and 7th place in the regular season. In the LKL quarterfinals, Neptūnas faced long time rivals and defending LKL champions
BC Rytas - Rytas beat Neptūnas in a very tough, very competitive series, needing overtime to beat Neptūnas at home 107–99, and finishing Neptūnas 95–91 in Klaipėda, to win the series 2–0. In the
King Mindaugas Cup, Neptūnas won the group stage over the newly established and heavily favored
BC Wolves. However, in the quarterfinal stage, Neptūnas could not beat
CBet Jonava, who beat Neptūnas both in Klaipėda 85–80, and in Jonava 76–75. Long time player
Martynas Mažeika, whose number was retired by Neptūnas during the season, also returned to the team, this time as club director.
For the 2023–2024 season, Brazys remained as Neptūnas head coach. Neptūnas signed
Sterling Gibbs and
Ignas Sargiūnas as the new point guards,
Tommy Rutherford and
Tim Lambrecht, one of the biggest stars of the LKL the previous season with
BC Nevėžis, as well as re-signing Girdžiūnas and Gailius. Jogėla, Wiley and Pleikys became the biggest departures for the team. The renewed Neptūnas started the LKL with a big win over
7-Bet Lietkabelis, 91–81, at home. In November, Neptūnas was also loaned, from Rytas, who had signed Pleikys during the summer,
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 ...
, who quickly became team leader for Neptūnas. Neptūnas went on a four-game win streak during November–December, including a big win over
BC Žalgiris
Basketball Club Žalgiris () commonly known as BC Žalgiris, is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (''Lietuvos krepšinio lyga'') and ...
in Kaunas. The mid-season retirement by Gibbs, however, shocked Neptūnas - Neptūnas was eliminated in the
King Mindaugas Cup by Lietkabelis, after winning the first game 91–89 in Klaipėda, lost in Panevėžys 76–79, losing by just one point on aggregate. In the LKL, at the start of March, Neptūnas had just a 6–12 record, just barely in the playoffs. Needing changes, Neptūnas made the decision to replace Brazys with longtime
Panathinaikos Athens assistant and head coach
Georgios Vovoras. Some roster changes also included signings of forward
Zsombor Maronka, point guard
Josh Newkirk and shooting guard
Georgios Kamperidis. The changes instantly changed Neptūnas - who went on a club record eight-game win streak in the LKL, including wins over Lietkabelis (twice to sweep the season series), Žalgiris (a double overtime thriller) and also an amazing win in Vilnius over
BC Rytas, 84–83, on a game winning basket by Tubelis. Attendances at the Švyturio Arena once again started to rise. Neptūnas finished the LKL regular season with a 14–16 record, in 6th place in the standings. Tubelis was named the LKL MVP of the regular season and his duo with Sargiūnas was considered as one of the very best in the LKL. In the LKL playoffs, Neptūnas faced off the heavily favored
BC Wolves - one of the assistants for the Wolves was Mindaugas Brazys, signed after getting released by Neptūnas. Wolves beat Neptūnas in Vilnius 91–84, before Neptūnas beat the Wolves, 95–76, in Klaipėda to tie the series 1-1. Despite a monster performance by Sargiūnas, who scored 27 points, Neptūnas succumbed in the deciding third game of the quarterfinals - Wolves beat Neptūnas 91–80 in Vilnius to win the series 2–1. Despite the loss, the amazing performance by Neptūnas in the second half of the season led to Neptūnas re-signing Vovaros.
Players
Retired numbers
Current roster
Depth chart
Squad changes for/during the 2025–26 season
In
Out
Logos
Bc neptunas logo until 2010-2011 season.gif, Classic logo (1964–2011)
BC Neptunas logo 2.png, 2010s logo (2011–2019)
BC_Neptūnas_anniversary_logo.png, 55th anniversary logo (2019–2020)
Neptunas2020.png, Current logo (2020–present)
Honours
Domestic competitions
*
Lithuanian SSR Championship
: Winners (1): 1962
*
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 ...
: Runners-up (2): 2014, 2016
: 3rd place (3): 2013, 2018, 2019
*
King Mindaugas Cup
: Runners-up (1): 2025
: 3rd place (1): 2016
Club achievements
::
Detailed information of former rosters and results.
LKL playoffs
* 2001–2002 season 8th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
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 ...
0–2)
* 2002–2003 season 6th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
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 ...
0–2)
* 2004–2005 season 5th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
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 ...
1–2)
* 2006–2007 season 4th (lost
bronze final against
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 ...
0–3)
* 2008–2009 season 4th (lost
bronze final against
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 ...
2–3)
* 2009–2010 season 5th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
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 ...
0–2)
* 2010–2011 season 8th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Žalgiris 0–2)
* 2011–2012 season 6th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
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 ...
1–2)
* 2012–2013 season 3rd (won
bronze final against
Prienai 3–2)
* 2013–2014 season 2nd (lost
grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
against
Žalgiris 2–4)
* 2014–2015 season 4th (lost
bronze final against
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 ...
2–3)
* 2015–2016 season 2nd (lost
grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
against
Žalgiris 1–4)
* 2016–2017 season 4th (lost
bronze final against
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 ...
2–3)
* 2017–2018 season 3rd (won
bronze final against
Lietkabelis 3–1)
* 2018–2019 season: 3rd (won
bronze final against
Lietkabelis 3–0)
* 2019–2020 season: 4th (the playoffs did not take place and the season was ended prematurely because of
coronavirus 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 ...
)
* 2020–2021 season: 6th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Lietkabelis 0–2)
* 2021–2022 season: 7th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Žalgiris 2–3)
* 2022–2023 season: 7th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Rytas 0–2)
* 2023–2024 season: 6th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Wolves Twinsbet 1–2)
* 2024–2025 season: 8th (lost
quarter-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
against
Žalgiris 0–2)
Notable players
* A foreign international player who has significantly contributed into the results of the club.
* A Lithuanian player who has significantly contributed into the results of the club.
* Lithuanians:
* Tomas Vanagas
1993–2000
* Gintautas Bendžius
1993–1996, 1999–2000
* Artūras Jakubauskas
1994–1997
* Aloyzas Vasiliūnas
1994–1997
*
Eurelijus Žukauskas 1994–1997
* Martynas Purlys
1995–1997
* Svajūnas Airošius
1995–2000
*
Donatas Zavackas
Donatas Zavackas (born 23 April 1980) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player, who is the sports director for Wolves Twinsbet of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup. He played college basketball at ...
1996–1998, 2003, 2006, 2014–2016
*
Alvydas Pazdrazdis 1997–1999
*
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 ...
1997–1999
* Mindaugas Mockus
1997–2004, 2006–2008
* Dainius Miliūnas
1998–2000
* Rolandas Urkis
1998–2001
* Audrius Mineikis
1999–2005, 2005–2006
* Gintautas Vileita
1999–2000, 2005–2006
* Petras Šalvis
2000–2005
*
Vidas Ginevičius 2000–2001
* Sigitas Kažukauskas
2000–2002
* Vaidotas Pridotkas
2000–2008
*
Mantas Ruikis 2001–2005, 2010–2012
*
Tomas Delininkaitis 2001–2002, 2017–2020
* Osvaldas Kurauskas
2005–2006, 2008–2010
* Vitalijus Stanevičius
2005–2008
* Vaidotas Pečiukas
2005–2006, 2007–2008
*
Marius Runkauskas 2007–2008, 2011–2014
*
Arvydas Eitutavičius 2008–2009, 2013–2014
*
Valdas Vasylius 2008–2009, 2010–2011, 2013–2015
* Lithuanians (cont):
*
Martynas Mažeika 2000–2004, 2008–2009, 2010–2017, 2020–2022
*
Simas Galdikas 2009–2012, 2012–2015, 2017–2021
*
Mindaugas Girdžiūnas 2009–2012, 2013–2017, 2022–present
*
Giedrius Gustas 2012–2013
*
Martynas Andriuškevičius
Martynas Andriuškevičius (; born March 12, 1986) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He is a 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) tall and 113 kg (250 lb) center (basketball), center. Andriuškevičius has noted perimeter skill ...
2012–2013
*
Vytautas Šarakauskas 2012–2017
*
Arnas Butkevičius 2013–2017
*
Deividas Gailius 2007–2009, 2012–2013, 2014–2015, 2019–2020, 2021–present
*
Laurynas Beliauskas 2014–2019
*
Renaldas Seibutis 2017–2018
*
Laimonas Kisielius 2017–2019
*
Edgaras Želionis 2017–2018, 2021–2022
*
Osvaldas Olisevičius 2018–2020
*
Gytis Masiulis 2018–2020
*
Džiugas Slavinskas 2018–2021
*
Tadas Sedekerskis 2019–2020
*
Matas Jogėla 2019–2023
*
Žygimantas Janavičius 2019–present
*
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 ...
2022–2023
*
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 ...
2023–2024
* Foreigners:
* Jeff Halloway
2000–2001
* Kipp Christianson
2002–2003
*
Willie Mitchell 2003–2004
*
Jānis Porziņģis
Jānis Porziņģis (born 13 July 1982) is a Latvian former professional basketball player. At a height of , he played at the small forward position. He is the older brother of Boston Celtics forward Kristaps Porziņģis.
Professional playing care ...
2003–2004
* Antonio Grant
2004–2005, 2010
* Sheiku Kabba
2004–2005
* Jerome Coleman
2005–2006
* Latece Williams
2005–2006
*
Ron Dorsey 2006–2007
*
Michailas Anisimovas 2007–2008, 2014
*
Arinze Onuaku 2011
*
Rashaun Broadus 2012–2013
*
Mustafa Shakur 2014–2015
*
Keith Benson 2014–2015
*
Daniel Ewing 2015–2016, 2017
*
Jerai Grant 2015–2017, 2018–2019
*
Travis Bader 2015–2016
*
Jimmy Baron 2016–2017
*
Chris Lofton 2016–2017
*
Juan Palacios 2017
*
Kyle Weaver 2018–2019
*
Darrin Dorsey 2019–2020,
2021
Head coaches
*
Robertas Usaris (1964–1968)
*
Antanas Kašiuba (1968–1974)
*
Saulius Vilkas (1974–1983)
*
Eugenijus Milkontas (1983–1993)
*
Stasys Kaupys (1993–1995)
*
Grigorijus Pancerovas (1995–1996)
*
Rimas Girskis (1996–1999)
*
Grigorijus Pancerovas (1994–2004)
*
Robertas Kuncaitis (2004–2005)
*
Dean Murray (2005–2006)
*
Robertas Kuncaitis (2006–2007)
*
Aloyzas Rudys (2007–2008)
*
Rytis Vaišvila (2008–2009)
*
Paulius Juodis (2009–2010)
*
Rytis Vaišvila (2010)
*
Robertas Kuncaitis (2010–2011)
*
Paulius Juodis (2011–2012)
* Osvaldas Kurauskas (2012)
*
Kazys Maksvytis (2012–2015)
*
Dainius Adomaitis (2015–2017)
*
Kazys Maksvytis (2017–2019)
*
Tomas Rinkevičius (2019–2020)
*
Jurica Žuža (2020)
*
Tomas Gaidamavičius (2020–2021)
*
Dainius Adomaitis (2021–2022)
*
Mindaugas Brazys (2022–2024)
*
Georgios Vovoras (2024–2025)
*
Vidas Ginevičius (2025) (interim coach)
*
Gediminas Petrauskas (2025–present)
Team management
Board Representative
Sigitas Ambrazevičius
Board members
Arunas Tuma
Alvydas Vaiciunas
Edvinas Vaickus
Vytautas Lygnugarys
Vidmantas Dambrauskas
Director of the Club
Sigitas Ambrazevičius
Statistical leaders
All time points per game in all tournaments (PPG)
Youth academy
Neptūnas closely works with
Vladas Knašius Basketball School as a ladder for youth to professional basketball. Players such as
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 ...
,
Eurelijus Žukauskas,
Tomas Delininkaitis, and many players of the current Neptūnas roster attended V. Knašius Basketball School.
Video game
Neptūnas basketball club was featured in the
NBA 2K16 video game.
References
External links
Official website
BC Neptūnasat LKL.lt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bc Neptunas
Basketball teams in Lithuania
Basketball teams in the Soviet Union
Basketball teams established in 1962
EuroLeague clubs
Sport in Klaipėda
1962 establishments in Lithuania