Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( lt, link=no, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American 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 who played the

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 eccentrici ...

position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

from 1997 to 2010 and played for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

during the 2010–11 season. He was named to the 1997–98 All-Rookie First Team and is a two-time NBA All-Star. Ilgauskas played in the 2007 NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers. He is known for his accurate jump shot, for his rebounding, and for overcoming difficult injury challenges during his career. Nicknamed Big Z, Ilgauskas is the Cavaliers' career leader in blocked shots; his jersey no. 11 has been retired by the team. In 2012, Ilgauskas joined the Cavaliers' front office, becoming a special advisor to the organization.

Professional career

Atletas (1993–1996)

Ilgauskas made his professional debut in his birthplace of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...

, with local club Atletas in 1993. He averaged 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in the 1994–95 season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1996–2010)

Ilgauskas was selected by the

with the 20th overall pick in the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball playe ...

. On August 1, 1996, he signed a multi-year deal with the Cavaliers. In the earliest parts of his career he suffered through a myriad of foot and ankle injuries. He spent the entire 1996–97 season on the injured list due to a broken bone in his right foot. He was named the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

of the

Rookie Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...

during All-Star Weekend and selected to the All-Rookie First Team in 1997–98. He signed a contract extension in 1998 that was worth $70.9 million over 6 years. However, Ilgauskas played in only 5 games over the next two seasons. On January 26, 2000, he had a surgery on a fractured navicular bone in his left foot. He re-gained the starting center spot for the Cavaliers in 2000–01. He was injured again in December 2000 and was out for the season. The injury dealt a blow to the Cavaliers. After winning 15 out of 23 games with Ilgauskas, they finished with a 30–52 record. He returned in December 2001 and was mostly used as a backup to

Chris Mihm Christopher Steven Mihm (born July 16, 1979) is an American former professional basketball center who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball at Texas, he was drafted with the seventh ov ...

for the rest of the season. Ilgauskas averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2002–03. He was selected as an All-Star, but the Cavaliers finished with the third-worst record in team history (17–65) and landed the number one draft pick. The Cavaliers drafted high school phenomenon and future NBA MVP

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

in 2003. James teamed up with Ilgauskas and

Drew Gooden Andrew Melvin Gooden III (born September 24, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a broadcaster for NBC Sports Washington. The power forward played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

to form the core of the team. Ilgauskas only missed nine games over the next three seasons and was selected as an All-Star again in 2005. Zydrunas Cavs

On July 12, 2005, Ilgauskas signed a contract extension with the Cavaliers. The deal was reportedly worth over $55 million over five years. For the next four seasons, Ilgauskas was the starting center for the team, which had turned into a contender. They reached the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In summer 2009, the Cavaliers acquired

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greate ...

. When asked about the trade, Ilgauskas responded: "I was just reading the news. That means I'll probably be coming off the bench." On December 2, 2009, Ilgauskas came off the bench in a game against

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

to break the team record for career games played, overtaking general manager Danny Ferry. On February 17, 2010, Ilgauskas, along with a 2010 first round pick and the rights to

Emir Preldžič Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

, was traded from the Cavaliers to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent

Antawn Jamison Antawn Cortez Jamison (; born June 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He serves as director of pro personnel for the Washington Wizards. Jamison play ...

from Washington to Cleveland, Al Thornton from the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

to Washington,

from Washington to Los Angeles, and

Sebastian Telfair Sebastian Telfair (born June 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and the Chinese Basketball Association. Telfair was picked thirteenth overall in the 2004 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers on ...

from Los Angeles to Cleveland. On February 25, 2010, the Wizards bought out his contract, making him a free agent. Ilgauskas did not play in any games for the Wizards. It was possible for Ilgauskas to return to the Cavaliers, but only after a 30-day waiting period policy required for players traded from their former teams after being bought out of their contract by their new team. He was still free to sign with any other team. On March 23, 2010 Ilgauskas signed a one-year deal for the remainder of the 2009–10 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He made his return a day later in a win over the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. In his first home game back with the team, against 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 ...

, Ilgauskas received huge ovations and support from the crowd.

Quicken Loans Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also se ...

was affectionately renamed "The Z" for the day, in honor of the Lithuanian. The 2010 NBA playoffs marked the first time in Ilgauskas' career in which he was not a significant part of the Cavaliers' rotation. Ilgauskas saw only 69 minutes of floor time in the entire postseason, resulting in averages of 1.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG, far below his career playoff production. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the Eastern Conference semifinals. On March 8, 2014, Ilgauskas' number 11 was retired by the

. At the time, he was only the third European to be honored in this way by an NBA team, after

Dražen Petrović Dražen Petrović (; 22 October 1964 – 7 June 1993) was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s, before joining the Nati ...

and

Vlade Divac Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings ...

Miami Heat (2010–2011)

On July 17, 2010, Ilgauskas signed with the

. The Heat's signings of Chris Bosh and long-time teammate

influenced Ilgauskas's decision to join the Heat. On December 2, during the Heat's first game in Cleveland, the fans cheered Ilgauskas in pre-game introductions, while booing the rest of the starters, including James. The Heat made it to the 2011 NBA Finals, but fell short to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

in six games. In September 2011, Ilgauskas announced that he was retiring from basketball, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family as well as citing long-term personal physical fatigue and basic bodily wear-and-tear.

National team career

Ilgauskas made his debut with the Lithuania national team in 1994, when the team was qualifying for a spot in the

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 ...

. He averaged 7.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. He later wanted to play for the Lithuania national team in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, but the Cavaliers did not permit him to play due to his injury history.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

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, 81 , , 81 , , 30.0 , , .441 , , .000 , , .781 , , 7.5 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , 1.9 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 31.3 , , .483 , , .286 , , .746 , , 8.1 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 2.5 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 33.5 , , .468 , , .286 , , .799 , , 8.6 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 2.1 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 29.3 , , .506 , , .000 , , .834 , , 7.6 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 1.7 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 27.3 , , .485 , , .000 , , .807 , , 7.7 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 73 , , 30.4 , , .474 , , .000 , , .802 , , 9.3 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 1.6 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

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Playoffs

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Front office work

On January 11, 2012, Ilgauskas made a return to Cleveland when he was hired by then Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant to serve as his assistant. His duties included evaluating amateur and pro talent prospects.

Coaching career

On September 18, 2015, Ilgauskas joined Saint Ignatius High School as the assistant coach for the boys' team.

Personal life

Ilgauskas married his wife, Jennifer, during the summer of 2004. In 2007, the couple lost a set of twins due to pregnancy complications that caused the infants to be born four months premature. In the summer of 2009, Ilgauskas adopted two Lithuanian brothers (aged five and four at the time) from his hometown of Kaunas. On September 13, 2022, it was announced that Jennifer died on September 11. Ilgauskas is an avid reader. He particularly enjoys military history. During his playing career, he often read in the locker room before games. Ilgauskas became a United States citizen in 2013. In so doing, he lost his Lithuanian citizenship, as Lithuania limits the possibility of dual citizenship.

References

External links

ESPN.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilgauskas, Zydrunas 1975 births Living people Basketball players from Kaunas Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers executives Cleveland Cavaliers players Lithuanian emigrants to the United States American people of Lithuanian descent Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Lithuanian men's basketball players LSU-Atletas basketball players Miami Heat players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players from Lithuania National Basketball Association players with retired numbers People with acquired American citizenship

Professional career

Atletas (1993–1996)

Cleveland Cavaliers (1996–2010)

Miami Heat (2010–2011)

National team career

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Front office work

Coaching career

Personal life

See also

References

External links