Gintaras Einikis (born September 30, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired 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 and current

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He stands at 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and is a former

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 eccentricity ...

for the senior Lithuanian national team. Einikis is the only player from the Lithuanian national team to have won all three consecutive

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

s at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Professional career

In 1987, the then 18-year-old Einikis, arrived at Žalgiris, to replace his injured teammate,

Arvydas Sabonis Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He ...

. Einikis established himself as a strong and aggressive defender, an excellent center, and a surprisingly accurate three-point shooter. When Sabonis left Žalgiris, Einikis continued his career, as a starter. In 1995, Einikis joined

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the VTB Unit ...

. After dominating with Avtodor, Einikis then moved to

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 ...

. After 2 moderate seasons with CSKA, he moved to Idea-Slask, where he averaged 9 points per game, and 4.4 rebounds per game, in 22 minutes per game of EuroLeague action. After a tumultuous first half of the season, he left Śląsk and signed with Greek side

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

to finish the season. He then moved back to Zalgiris, where he contributed more to the team. During the last years of his career, his averages fell drastically; however, he still helped

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 ...

to win the ULEB Cup ( EuroCup) championship in 2005. He retired after the 2005–06 season. In 2009, he returned to playing professional basketball, and played for Naglis-Adakris. After the 2009–10 season, he retired for a second time.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

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Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

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Unicaja Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

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Coaching career

On February 10, 2016, it was announced that Einkis had become an assistant

for

Controversies

In 2008, Einikis participated in altercation with a night club's staff, yelling insults, threatening physical harm and refusing to leave the club. He and his friend were fined with 3,000 Litas. After the incident, Einikis was spotted leaving the club in his car

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...

. Because he had lost his license a year ago after his involvement in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

accident, he was fined with an additional 2,500 Litas. During the accident, it was speculated that he was on cocaine. The police discovered cocaine powder in his car. In 2011, Einikis, heavily intoxicated, with 5.11

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blood-alcohol concentration, went to his friend's house and threatened to kill her by setting her house on fire. He was later arrested and charged with threats of arson and assault. He married his longtime friend Jurgita in July 2012. Later that month, however, he, while under the influence of alcohol, physically assaulted his wife.

Awards and achievements

Pro clubs

*6× Lithuanian Champion: (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003) **

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

Champion: (1991) **2×

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...

n Champion: (1992, 1993) **3× Lithuanian League (LKL) Champion: (1994, 1995, 2003) *2× Lithuanian League MVP: (1994, 1995) *2× Lithuanian League Finals MVP: (1994, 1995) *

FIBA EuroStar FIBA EuroStars was an annual event, organized by FIBA Europe, as a showcase basketball game, from the 1996–97 season, until the 1999–2000 season. Commonly considered as the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars game ...

: (1997) * Russian League Champion: (2000) * Polish League Champion: (2004) * ULEB Cup ( EuroCup) Champion: (2005) * FIBA EuroCup All-Star (FIBA EuroChallenge All-Star): (2006) * Czech League Champion: (2006)

Lithuanian senior national team

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

: *

EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...

: *

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

: *

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einikis, Gintaras 1969 births Living people Asseco Gdynia players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics BC Avtodor Saratov players BC Rytas players BC Žalgiris players Centers (basketball) Liga ACB players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Poland Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Spain Lithuanian men's basketball players Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow players Power forwards (basketball) Soviet men's basketball players Sportspeople from Kretinga 1998 FIBA World Championship players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic