Jānis Timma (born 2 July 1992) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Grises de Humacao of the Puerto Rican

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

(BSN). He also represents the senior Latvian national team. At a height of , he plays mainly 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 ...

position.

Professional career

Timma grew up playing basketball in his hometown of

Krāslava Krāslava (; ltg, Kruoslova, german: Kreslau, be, Краслаўка, pl, Krasław, russian: Краслава, Креславль) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality, in the Latgale region of Latvia. The town lies ...

, but he later moved to

Rīga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...

at age 15. At first he joined ASK Rīga's youth system, and made a few appearances for its senior team, during the end of the 2008–09 season. The following year, ASK Riga was dissolved and he played with DSN Rīga, a team that consisted of young Latvian talents. Timma helped DSN Rīga to win the Latvian 2nd division in the 2009–10 season. He also spent the majority of the next season playing with DSN Rīga. Timma joined Liepājas Lauvas for the 2011–12 season. That can be considered his first real season at the pro level. After a decent season in Liepāja, Timma made the next step in his career. On 1 August 2012, he signed a multi-year contract with

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

. In April 2013, he led Ventspils to the

Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus have participated in the Baltic L ...

championship, and he won the Finals MVP award. In his second season with Ventspils, Timma won his first Latvian League championship, and he was named the MVP of the playoffs. On 28 July 2014, he signed with the Latvian club VEF Rīga, where he played for the first time in such quality competition as the European-wide secondary league, the EuroCup, and the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

. Timma was named the MVP of the 2015 Latvian Basketball League All-Star Game, after he scored 41 points, and set a new scoring record. On 5 May 2015, he was named the

VTB United League Young Player of the Year The VTB United League Young Player of the Year is an annual VTB United League award given since the 2012–13 VTB United League season to the league's best young player. Players who are under age 23 are eligible. Winners : There was no awardin ...

. He finished the season with VEF Rīga, by winning the Latvian League (LBL) championship. In total, he played in 58 games with VEF Riga, averaging 12.6 points per game, in all the competitions that his team participated in. On 30 June 2015, he signed a two-year contract with the Russian team

Zenit St. Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

. On 8 June 2017, Timma signed a three-year deal with the Spanish club Baskonia. On 18 July 2018, Timma parted ways with Baskonia and signed a two-year deal with the Greek club

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 ...

of the EuroLeague. His stint in Greece proved unsuccessful and he was loaned to fellow EuroLeague club Khimki Moscow on 12 March 2019 for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. On 27 June 2019 Timma signed on to continue playing for the Russian team with a two-year contract. On 15 November 2021 Timma signed a temporary deal with

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 202 ...

of the

. On December 6, he was waived by the Russian club. On 31 January 2022 Timma signed with the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundi ...

, as they held his draft rights. On 23 December 2022 Timma signed with Grises de Humacao of the Puerto Rican

(BSN) until the end of the season.

NBA draft rights

In 2013, Timma declared for the 2013 NBA draft. He was selected with the last pick (60th overall) by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On 24 June 2015, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Timma's draft rights to the Orlando Magic in exchange for

Luke Ridnour Lukas Robin Ridnour (born February 13, 1981) is an American retired professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Ridnour was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and grew up in Blaine, Washington. His fa ...

National team career

With Latvia's junior national team, Timma won a bronze medal at the

2010 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2010 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 27th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Lithuania from July 22 to August 1. Serbia was the defending champion. Lithuania won the title aft ...

. In 2013, he made his first appearance with the senior Latvian national team. With Latvia's senior team, he has played at the 2015 EuroBasket, the 2016 Belgrade FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 2017 EuroBasket.Janis TIMMA (LAT).
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Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 33 , , 27 , , 22.8 , , .483 , , .412 , , .767 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .1 , , 7.6 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 9 , , 11.3 , , .474 , , .404 , , .500 , , .9 , , .7 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.4 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

Khimki Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central Moscow, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station th ...

, 21 , , 20 , , 29.5 , , .540 , , .375 , , .682 , , 3.1 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 15.5 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , 16 , , 10 , , 24.8 , , .364 , , .350 , , .727 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 7.1 , , 5.6 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 96 , , 68 , , 21.5 , , .428 , , .382 , , .704 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .1 , , 7.4 , , 5.9

Professional career

NBA draft rights

National team career

Career statistics

EuroLeague

References

External links