Dairis Bertāns (born September 9, 1989) is a Latvian 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 (appr ...

player for

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

of the Spanish

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

. Bertāns also plays for the

Latvia national basketball team The Latvia men's national basketball team ( lv, Latvijas basketbola izlase) represents Latvia in international basketball. They are organized and run by the Latvian Basketball Association. Latvia has reached the European Basketball Championshi ...

. He is the older brother of

Dāvis Bertāns Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 42 ...

Professional career

Latvia (2004–2013)

From 2004 to 2006, Bertāns played for

Valmiera Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state city ...

and its junior team. In 2006, he signed with

ASK Rīga ASK Rīga is a former professional basketball club that was based in Riga, Latvia. "ASK" stood for "Armijas Sporta Klubs" (in English: Army Sports Club). History BK Rīga was then founded in 2004, and it got back the original name of ASK ...

. In 2006–07, he played for ASK Rīga's junior team, and in 2007–08, made his debut for the senior squad. In March 2009, he left ASK Rīga following the club's financial difficulties and signed a two-year deal with

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

. In August 2010, he signed a two-year deal with VEF Rīga. VEF Rīga's coach at the time,

Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born May 15, 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, and a retired professional basketball player, who was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams during his playing career. He won ...

, saw potential in Bertāns as a point guard despite primarily being a shooting guard. So, during the 2010–11 season, Bertāns developed point guard skills to a different level, and was one of the key factors in VEF Rīga's first championship. In July 2012, he re-signed with VEF Rīga on a three-year deal.

Bilbao Basket (2013–2016)

In June 2013, Bertāns parted ways with VEF Rīga to sign a three-year deal with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri 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. Their home arena is the Bilba ...

of the

. In one of his first games with Bilbao he scored 19 points in a preseason game against

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. In July 2014, Bertāns joined the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. In his second season with Bilbao, Bertāns helped the team to reach the

2015 ACB Playoffs The 2015 ACB Playoffs will be the final phase of the 2014–15 ACB season. They will start on May 28 and will end on June. FC Barcelona is the defending champions. All times are CEST ( UTC+02:00), except the game played in the Canary Islands (WES ...

as the fifth seed, but they eventually lost to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in the Quarterfinals. In July 2015, Bertāns joined the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League a ...

, where he averaged 11.3 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 in three games played for the Spurs. On January 20, 2016, Bertāns recorded a season-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-11 from three-point range, along with four rebounds and two assists in a 76-78 loss to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

Darüşşafaka (2016–2017)

On July 13, 2016, Bertāns signed a 1+1-year deal with Turkish club

Darüşşafaka Doğuş Darüşşafaka, meaning "home of compassion" in Ottoman Turkish, may refer to: * Darüşşafaka Society, a Turkish educational association founded to train apprentices ** Darüşşafaka High School, a school in Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey * Darüşş ...

under head coach

David Blatt David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player. Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...

. On January 12, 2017, Bertāns recorded a career-high 29 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, along with five assists in a 98–89 win over Baskonia. Bertāns helped the team to reach the 2017 EuroLeague Playoffs as the eighth seed, but they eventually were eliminated by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the Quarterfinals.

Olimpia Milano (2017–2019)

On July 10, 2017, Bertāns signed with Italian club

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. In his first season with Milano, Bertāns helped Milano to win the 2018 Italian League championship. On June 29, 2018, Bertāns re-signed with Milano for the 2018–19 season. However, on March 1, 2019, Bertāns parted ways with Milano so he can continue the season in the NBA.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019)

On March 2, 2019, Bertāns signed with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. Bertāns later made his NBA debut eight days later, recording just one assist in six minutes of action in a 128–116 loss to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. He then recorded a rebound two days later in a 130–113 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. He made his first basket with a three-pointer in a 138–136 overtime loss to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

on March 16. On July 7, 2019, he was waived by the Pelicans.

Khimki (2019–2021)

On July 8, 2019, Bertāns signed a two-year contract with

Khimki Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central Moscow, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station tha ...

, reuniting with the head coach

. He played in 21 out of 28 Euroleague games and

BC Khimki BC Khimki (russian: БК Химки) 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 Kh ...

won 13 games, placing them 7th place in the standings, which would qualify the team to

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s. On May 25, 2020, Euroleague Basketball cancelled its competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real Betis (2021–present)

On July 27, 2021, Bertāns signed with

of the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .255 , , .294 , , - , , .8 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .255 , , .294 , , - , , .8 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.8

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Darüşşafaka , 32 , , 7 , , 16.1 , , .463 , , .500 , , .836 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.4 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

, 28 , , 4 , , 18.4 , , .417 , , .409 , , .857 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.1 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 22 , , 11 , , 16.6 , , .479 , , .536 , , .824 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 6.4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 7 , , 16.5 , , .438 , , .429 , , .800 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.6 , , 3.1 , -class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;", Career , 103 , , 29 , , 16.9 , , .447 , , .462 , , .836 , , .8 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.2 , , 4.7

National team career

Bertāns has been member of the Latvian U-16, U-19 and U-20 national teams, as well as the senior national team. He led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2007 U18 European Championship in Madrid, Spain. He has since represented the Latvia national team at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

. He was also the leading scorer (14.1ppg) for Latvia in 2012, when he helped Latvia earn a spot in

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

. Bertāns was a key player for Latvia during

where he averaged 10.9 ppg. In his best game of the tournament Dairis had a 28-point performance against eventual champs France. He returned for

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, helping Latvia get to the quarterfinal round on both occasions.

Statistics

Personal life

Bertāns' brother, Dāvis, is also a professional basketball player. Their father, Dainis, was a professional basketball player and is currently a youth coach. Their mother is a sports teacher and a former high-level rower. In childhood Bertāns was raised in Latvian most northern town

Rūjiena Rūjiena (; german: Rujen; et, Ruhja) is a town in Valmiera Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. As of 2017 its population was 3,007. Geography The town is located in northern Latvia, near the border with Estonia, in the historical regi ...

until his parents moved to capital city

Rīga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava (river), Daugava river where ...

References

External links

Dairis Bertāns
at acb.com
Dairis Bertāns
at eurobasket.com
Dairis Bertāns
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertāns, Dairis 1989 births Living people ASK Riga players Bilbao Basket players BK VEF Rīga players BK Ventspils players Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Latvian expatriate basketball people in Spain Latvian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Latvian expatriate basketball people in the United States Latvian men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players National Basketball Association players from Latvia New Orleans Pelicans players Olimpia Milano players People from Valmiera People from Rūjiena Real Betis Baloncesto players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Shooting guards