Rolands Šmits (born June 25, 1995) 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 Žalgiris Kaunas of the LKL and the EuroLeague. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10"), and a weight of 106.4 kg (235 lbs.), he can play at either 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 ...

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 ...

positions.

Early career

Šmits came up through the junior youth ranks of the Latvian club

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 left his native Latvia, for Spain in 2011. He joined the Spanish club

Baloncesto Fuenlabrada Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, S.A.D., known as just Fuenlabrada and also Carplus Fuenlabrada because of sponsorship reasons,, is a professional basketball team based in Fuenlabrada, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and plays their home games at Fe ...

, and played for their

feeder team Feeder may refer to: Technology * Feeder (livestock equipment) * Feeder (beekeeping), any of several devices used in apiculture to supplement or replace natural food sources * Feeder (casting), another name for a riser, a reservoir built into a ...

in the

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Spanish fourth-tier level

Liga EBA Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado (EBA), commonly known as Liga EBA, is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, LEB Oro, and LEB Plata. It is administered ...

, in the 2011–12 season.

Professional career

Šmits made his debut in the Spanish top-tier level

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 ...

, with

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

, during the 2012–13 season, while also seeing action for Grupo Eulen Carrefour El Bulevar de Ávila, in the country’s third-tier division

LEB Plata The LEB Plata is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promoted to LEB Oro and six teams are relegated t ...

, that same season. From 2013 to 2015, he primarily played for Fuenlabrada's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in LEB Plata sides Fundación Baloncesto Fuenlabrada and the affiliated team Viten Getafe respectively. But, he also earned increasing playing minutes in the top-tier level ACB. In the 2016–17 season, Šmits won the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup's Rising Star Award, after shooting 55.1% from the field overall, 60.4% from 2 point field goal range, and 48.8% from 3 point field goal range, while averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.6 steals per game, with Fuenlabrada during the EuroCup season. In September 2017, he signed a five-year contract with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

, but stayed on loan at Fuenlabrada until the summer of 2018. On July 3, 2022, he signed a two-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas of the LKL and the EuroLeague.

International career

Šmits competed with Latvia's junior national teams at the

2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 25th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. 16 teams featured in the competition, which was held in the Czech Republic, from July 28 to August 7. Croatia won the title for the third time ...

, and at the

2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 29th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Lithuania and Latvia from 9 to 19 August 2012. Spain were the defending champions. The top 5 teams ...

and

2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 30th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Latvia, from 18 to 28 July 2013. Croatia were the defending champions. Turkey became the new ...

. He also played with Latvia's junior national team at the

2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 17th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The competition was played in Crete, Greece, from 8 to 20 July 2014. The winners were Turkey. To win the title they beat Spain with a score o ...

and at the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 18th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The competition took place in Lignano Sabbiadoro and Latisana, Italy, from 7 to 19 July 2015. Participating teams * (Runners-up, 2014 FIBA ...

.Rolands SMITS (LAT).
/ref> Šmits received his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the senior men's

Latvian national basketball team The Latvia men's national basketball team ( lv, Latvijas basketbola izlase) represents Latvia in international basketball. They are organized and run by the Latvian Basketball Association. Latvia has reached the European Basketball Championship ...

in 2014.

Awards and accomplishments

Club

;FC Barcelona *

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) * 3×

Copa del Rey 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 footbal ...

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

)

Individual

EuroCup Rising Star The EuroCup Basketball Rising Star is an annual award of EuroCup Basketball, which is the secondary level European-wide professional club basketball league, that is given to the player that EuroCup Basketball deems its "top rising star". The E ...

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2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) * Spanish League All-Young Players Team: (

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