Leo Rytis Rautins (born March 20, 1960) is a Canadian broadcaster, former 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 the former head coach of the
Canadian men's national basketball team. Rautins played 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 ...
(NBA) drafted in the first round of the
1983 NBA draft, by 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 ...
. Rautins' NBA career was waylaid by injury. After a brief retirement, Rautins returned to basketball and played in European professional leagues from 1985 until 1992. He has been a broadcaster for the
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
since the team's inception in 1995.
Playing career
Rautins was a star in high school for Toronto's
St. Michael's College School
St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Cana ...
. In 1977, at age 16, he was named to the Canadian senior national team, the youngest player in the team's history to that time. He would be a member of the team until 1992. Rautins completed his national team playing career as Canada was eliminated in the
1992 Tournament of the Americas, the basketball qualifying tournament for the
Barcelona 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 ...
.
Rautins attended the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
for his freshman year of college, and
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
for three seasons. At Minnesota, Rautins was named first-team All-
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
rookie, averaging 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. He left Minnesota for multiple reasons: at Minnesota, he was not required to attend classes, and at Syracuse he would have the opportunity to be the top player.
[ As a member of the Syracuse Orangemen, he averaged 12.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. He is the first player ever to record a ]triple-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
in Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
play, accomplishing the feat twice in the span of a month during his senior year. He was named All-Big East third team and Honorable Mention All-American that year.
In 1983, Rautins became the second Canadian ever drafted in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft.[ The Rautins was selected 17th overall 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 ...
in the 1983 Draft, considered an excellent passer.[ Unknown to Rautins, he reported to training camp with torn ligaments in his foot][ which was not treated properly and deteriorated during the season.][ Hampered by injuries, he played in 28 games as a rookie with the 76ers, averaging just seven minutes a game, 1.5 points, 1 assist, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.7 turnovers. In September 1984, he was traded to the ]Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
for a third-round pick to make room for Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...
under the salary cap[ but eventually signed as a free agent with 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 played only four games for the Hawks, averaging a mere three minutes a contest and was waived in November 1984. Rautins tried out for other NBA teams and the Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
but was unable to find a spot with another team.[
Rautins then left the NBA, returned to Syracuse and did radio and television work.][ He was a commentator for the ]Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
(CBC) at the 1984 Olympics. In 1985, Rautins returned to playing basketball, moving to Europe. Rautins played in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
for Serie A1 team Banco Roma
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for the last time in the 2020–21 season.
It was form ...
(1985–1986) and Serie A2 team Citrosil Verona (1986–1987), in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
with Pau Orthez (1989–90 and 1992), and in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
(1991–92). Rautins then retired from playing. By this time, he had undergone a total of 14 knee operations.
Post-playing career
After retiring from playing, Rautins became a basketball commentator, most notably with the Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
since their inaugural season in 1995, serving as either their lead colour commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...
(for games on Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
) or studio analyst
A sports analyst is a person looking through technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological performance metrics /sup> working with the sports coach and sports science team to improve athlete performance. They will often use Video motion an ...
(for games on TSN). He also conducts basketball camps in the summer.
In 1997, Rautins was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Rautins was inducted into the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame.
In February 2005, Rautins was named 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 ...
of the Canadian National Team. The team did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics, but did qualify for the 2010 World Championship. He resigned from that position in September 2011, after Canada lost to Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
in the FIBA Americas Tournament.
In 2014, Rautins became involved in plans to launch a new Canadian Basketball League. He was named as one of the principals in a proposed Ottawa professional team after the failure of the Ottawa SkyHawks
The Ottawa SkyHawks were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The SkyHawks played in the Central Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) during a single season. Financial difficulty resulted ...
minor professional team. Rautins had been in consideration for the Commissioner position of the National Basketball League of Canada
The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...
.
On October 17, 2016, Rautins was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...
at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
The Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel is a 1300-room, 43-story hotel in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, opened in 1972. It is the second-tallest all-hotel building in Toronto, after the Delta Toronto Hotel.
History
The hotel opened on October 1 ...
.
Personal life
Rautins was born in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
to a Latvian father and Lithuanian mother. His parents met in a prison camp, from which they escaped with the help of Dutch soldiers, before emigrating to Canada, as it was the only country that would accept them.[ As a youth, he played for Toronto Aušra, a local sports club for children of Lithuanian descent. Rautins and his first wife Maria had four sons: Michael, Andrew (Andy), Jay and Sammy.] Andy followed in his father's footsteps, playing for Syracuse and being drafted by the New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
in 2010. Rautins married Jamie Lawson in 2005.[ During the NBA offseason, Rautins resides in ]Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...
.
Awards
* 1978 – All-Big Ten Rookie Team[
* All-Star – Italian, French and Spanish professional leagues][
* 1997 – Canada's Basketball Hall of Fame
* 2000 – Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame][
* 2000 – Syracuse University All-Century team]
References
External links
''Orangehoops.org'' with a Rautins's profile
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110325072542/http://www.frozenhoops.com/ Profile on Rautins and the other 17 Canadians to play in the NBA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rautins, Leo
1960 births
Living people
ASVEL Basket players
Atlanta Hawks players
Baloncesto Málaga players
Basketball players from Toronto
Canadian basketball coaches
Canadian expatriate basketball people in France
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Canadian men's basketball players
1978 FIBA World Championship players
1982 FIBA World Championship players
Canadian people of Latvian descent
Canadian people of Lithuanian descent
Canadian radio sportscasters
Canadian television sportscasters
Club Ourense Baloncesto players
Élan Béarnais players
Liga ACB players
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players
National Basketball Association players from Canada
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players
People from Jupiter, Florida
Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
Philadelphia 76ers players
Scaligera Basket Verona players
Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players
Small forwards
Syracuse Orange men's basketball players
Toronto Raptors announcers