Jānis Bērziņš (born May 4, 1993) 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

Legia Warszawa Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...

. Standing at 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) he plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position.

Professional career

Jānis Bērziņš who in childhood 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 ...

started his professional career in 2009 with

BK Valmiera BK Valmiera, named Valmiera Ordo for sponsorship reasons, was a professional basketball club based in Valmiera, Latvia which played in the Latvian Basketball League and Baltic Basketball League. Since 2018 the club is on hiatus. In the 2015-2 ...

. He played there for two seasons until he joined VEF Rīga, signing a multiyear contract. After his first season with VEF he was loaned back to Valmiera. Bērziņš had very successful 2012–2013 campaign. First he played major role for Valmiera, that won Latvian League bronze medals, which was followed by invitation to participate in Adidas Eurocamp, which was held in Treviso, Italy. In August 2013, after an impressive showing with Latvian team in U20 European Championship, Bērziņš signed an extension with VEF Rīga. He also had contract offer from Spanish powerhouse

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 ...

, but instead chose Riga as best place for his development. On July 2, 2020, he has signed with Stelmet Zielona Góra of the Polish League. On July 16, 2021, he signed with Baxi Manresa 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 ...

. On January 14, 2022, Berzins moved to

Larisa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. In 25 league games, he averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1 assist, playing around 18 minutes per contest. On July 14, 2022, he has signed with

of the

Latvian National Team

Jānis has played for Latvian U16, U18 and U20 National Team as well as Senior National Team. In July 2013, Bērziņš was big part of Latvia's historic run at U20 European Championship in Tallinn, Estonia, which was highlighted by making finals, while Jānis was named to All-Tournament team.FIBA Europe
/ref>

References

External links

Eurobasket Profile
1993 births Living people Basket Zielona Góra players Bàsquet Manresa players BK Valmiera players BK VEF Rīga players BK Ventspils players Latvian men's basketball players Larisa B.C. players Lega Basket Serie A players Legia Warsaw (basketball) players Liga ACB players Orlandina Basket players People from Valmiera People from Rūjiena Small forwards {{Latvia-basketball-bio-stub