Joseph John "Joe" Arlauckas (born July 20, 1965) is an American 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 of Lithuanian descent. He played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position. Arlauckas is well-known for holding the record for the most points scored in a modern-era single EuroLeague game, including only games played since the 1991–92 season. He scored 63 points in a FIBA European League (EuroLeague) game, while playing for

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 ...

, against

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 ...

, during the 1995–96 season, on February 26, 1996.

Radivoj Korać Radivoj Korać ( sr-cyrl, Радивој Кораћ; 5 November 1938 – 2 June 1969) was a Serbian and Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Korać is well-known ...

holds the all-time EuroLeague (FIBA European Champions Cup) single-game scoring record, at 99 points scored, counting all games played since the competition began during the 1958 season.

Early years

Arlauckas was born on July 20, 1965, in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, New York. He was born to an immigrant father from

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 ...

, and to an

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

mother. Arlauckas attended Thomas Jefferson High School, in Rochester, where he played high school basketball.

College career

Arlauckas played four years of

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 ...

in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

, at Niagara University, with the Purple Eagles. He attended school and played there from 1983 to 1987.

Professional career

NBA career

Arlauckas was drafted with the 74th pick of the 1987 NBA draft by 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 ...

, along with their first round draft pick

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

. In his first season in the

NBA 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 St ...

, the Kings had a poor regular season record of 24–58 (6th place of the Midwest Division), which started with Hall-of-Famer

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

's brief stint as the Kings'

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

(during which time the Kings had a record of 17–41). During his sole season in 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 ...

, Arlauckas appeared in nine games, averaging four points per game, in roughly 10 minutes of play per game.

Europe

On December 14, 1987, Arlauckas was cut by the

's Kings. He then went to Italy, where he played for 6 months of time in the Italian top-tier level LBA with Snaidero Caserta. He went on to have a highly successful career playing in Spain (one exact decade), playing in the Spanish top-tier level

ACB League 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 ...

. In Spain, he played with Caja de Ronda, Taugrés, and

, winning several individual and team accolades; with the latter, he formed one of European basketball's most fearsome front courts, along with center

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 p ...

, and he notably won the championship of the top-tier level European league, the FIBA European League (EuroLeague), with Real Madrid, in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. With Real Madrid, he also won the 2nd-tier level European league, the

FIBA EuroCup FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

(FIBA Saporta Cup), during the 1996–97 season. On February 26, 1996, Arlauckas scored 63 points, a record in the modern era of the EuroLeague, against Kinder Bologna in Italy. Real Madrid won the game, by a score of 115–96. In six seasons out of ten played in Spain, Arlauckas averaged more than 20 points per game. He scored 7,543 points in the Liga ACB, for a scoring average of 20.7 points per game. He retired in 2000, at the age of 35, after playing two years in Greece – playing one season apiece with the Greek top-tier level Basket League clubs

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

and

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

Post-playing career

After he retired from playing basketball, Arlauckas became a

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

, working for EuroLeague TV.

Honours and awards

Italian Cup Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

winner: 1988 *

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

winner: 1993 *

MVP: 1993 * Spanish League champion: 1993–94 * FIBA European League (EuroLeague) champion: 1994–95 * FIBA European League (EuroLeague) Top Scorer: 1995–96 *

(FIBA Saporta Cup) champion: 1996–97

References

External links

Real Madrid archives

"The czar's best partner"

Joe Arlauckas, the "recordman"

Italian League Profile

Spanish League Profile

Greek Basket League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arlauckas, Joe 1965 births Living people AEK B.C. players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of Lithuanian descent Aris B.C. players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players from New York (state) Juvecaserta Basket players Liga ACB players Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Real Madrid Baloncesto players Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players Saski Baskonia players Sportspeople from Rochester, New York