Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) 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 (appr ...

coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for 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 ( ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions.

Early years

Songaila started his basketball career with Lietuvos rytas Marijampolė in second-tier Lithuanian league, the

LKAL LKAL - Lietuvos Krepšinio A Lyga (English: Lithuanian Basketball A League), was the second Lithuanian basketball league until it ceased to exist in the spring of 2005. The new created league named ''NKL'', Nacionalinė Krepšinio Lyga (Natio ...

in 1995. In 1997, he moved to the United States where he attended the

New Hampton School New Hampton School is an independent college preparatory high school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, United States. It has 305 students from over 30 states and 22 countries. The average class size is eleven, and the student-faculty ratio is five t ...

New Hampton, New Hampshire New Hampton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,377 at the 2020 census. A winter sports resort area, New Hampton is home to George Duncan State Forest and to the New Hampton School, a private prepara ...

. Songaila played the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

in 1998. He was also named to the All-European Under-22 Championship Second Team.

College career

Darius Songaila played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. He was named Third Team All-ACC in 2000 and Second Team All-ACC in 2002. He was also named Honorable Mention All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

as a senior.

Professional career

Songaila was selected with the 50th pick of the 2002 NBA draft by 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 ...

, who eventually dealt his rights to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He joined

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) 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 a central piece ...

for the 2002–03 season and won the

Russian Basketball Super League The Russian Basketball Super League 1, or Super Liga 1, (russian: Баскетбольная Cуперлига 1), formerly known as the Russian Basketball Super League A or the Russian Basketball Super Liga A, is a men's professional basketball ...

. He signed with the Kings in June 2003, and averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 154 games (28 starts) over two seasons. Songaila signed a one-year deal with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

in September 2005. He had his most successful season yet with the Bulls, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 62 games (7 starts). However, he suffered an ankle injury in March 2006 and missed the final 20 games. On July 17, 2006, Songaila signed with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. The deal reportedly was worth $23 million over five years. He missed the first 45 games after a surgery for a

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

and averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 37 games (1 start). Songaila eventually became a big part of the Wizards' bench and an occasional starter. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2007–08. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Songaila became a starter because of the injuries suffered by teammates

Brendan Haywood Brendan Todd Haywood (born November 27, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Following his playing ...

and

Andray Blatche Andray Maurice Blatche (born August 22, 1986) is an American-Filipino former professional basketball player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2005 and 2014 before finishing his career with five seasons ...

. He started a career-high 29 games and averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. On June 23, 2009, he was traded to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

along with

Oleksiy Pecherov Oleksiy Ivanovych Pecherov ( uk, Олексій Іванович Печеров; born December 8, 1985) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player. He was also a member of the Ukraine national basketball team. Professional career The Wa ...

Etan Thomas Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a published poet ...

, and a first-round draft pick for

Randy Foye Randy Foye (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Villanova University. He was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, but was immediately traded to ...

and Mike Miller. On September 9, 2009, he was traded to the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

along with

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

in exchange for

Antonio Daniels Antonio Robert Daniels (born March 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans on B ...

and a

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

second round pick. On September 23, 2010, he was traded to the

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 ...

along with rookie forward

Craig Brackins Craig Lee Brackins (born October 9, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Shiga Lakestars of the Japanese B.League. Brackins played collegiately for the Iowa State Cyclones. A power forward, Brackins was the high ...

in exchange for

Willie Green Willie Julius Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with the ...

and Jason Smith. Songaila had career lows with the 76ers, notably in points (1.6 ppg). With the 2010–11 season coming to an end, he became an unrestricted free agent. In July 2011, he signed a one-year contract with

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

in Turkey worth $1.5 million. In March 2012, several weeks after leaving Galatasaray, Songaila signed with Blancos de Rueda Valladolid. Later that year, he signed with

BC Donetsk Basketball Club Donetsk ( uk, баскетбольний клуб Донецьк), commonly known as simply Donetsk, was a Ukrainian professional basketball club, based in Donetsk. The team played in the Ukrainian SuperLeague. The mascot of the te ...

. On October 8, 2013, he signed with Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for one season. On July 22, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he retired from the professional basketball.

Coaching career

On August 5, 2015 Songaila was appointed as an assistant coach for Žalgiris Kaunas. In August 2018, he became a quality assurance assistant in the video department for the

of the

(NBA). In September 2019, Songaila was promoted to a player development assistant. In November 2020, Songaila was promoted to assistant coach.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 73 , , 7 , , 13.4 , , .487 , , .000 , , .807 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 81 , , 21 , , 20.6 , , .527 , , .000 , , .847 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 62 , , 7 , , 21.4 , , .481 , , .400 , , .817 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .3 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 37 , , 1 , , 18.9 , , .524 , , .000 , , .852 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 13 , , 19.4 , , .458 , , .000 , , .918 , , 3.4 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 29 , , 19.8 , , .532 , , .000 , , .889 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 75 , , 1 , , 18.8 , , .494 , , .167 , , .811 , , 3.1 , , .9 , , .8 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 10 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .467 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 495 , , 79 , , 18.6 , , .499 , , .158 , , .844 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.9

Playoffs

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

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 12.1 , , .625 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .0 , , .1 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .421 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

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

, 4 , , 0 , , 22.5 , , .488 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 15.4 , , .421 , , .000 , , .867 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , 5.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 0 , , 15.6 , , .484 , , .000 , , .897 , , 2.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.6

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 16 , , 21.6 , , .475 , , .286 , , .847 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 12.8 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 15.3 , , .455 , , .000 , , .714 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.5 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

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 ( , ; see also ...

, 10 , , 8 , , 21.9 , , .473 , , .000 , , .667 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.2 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 24 , , 2 , , 14.5 , , .492 , , .000 , , .778 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.8 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 62 , , 36 , , 17.8 , , .477 , , .286 , , .794 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.3 , , 6.7

References

External links

*
Darius Songaila
at eurobasket.com
Darius Songaila
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Songaila, Darius 1978 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics BC Donetsk players BC Rytas players BC Žalgiris players Boston Celtics draft picks CB Valladolid players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players FIBA EuroBasket-winning players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Liga ACB players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Spain Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Ukraine Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics National Basketball Association players from Lithuania New Orleans Hornets players Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players Washington Wizards players

Early years

College career

Professional career

Coaching career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague

See also

References

External links