Mantas Kalnietis (born 6 September 1986) is a Lithuanian 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 last played for Žalgiris Kaunas of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

(LKL) and the EuroLeague. He was also a member of the Lithuanian national basketball team. He would preferably take the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

position, but could play

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

as well.

Early years

Kalnietis spent two and a half seasons with the LKKA-Žalgiris. He averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 assists in his second season.

Professional career

Kalnietis made his pro debut in February 2006 with the Žalgiris Kaunas. He averaged 6.8 points on 65 percent shooting in the EuroLeague. Kalnietis helped Žalgiris win a Baltic League title in 2008, two Lithuanian League titles in 2007 and 2008 and two Lithuanian Cups in 2007 and 2008. He also led the team to a 2007 ULEB Summer League title, where he was named MVP. He competed at the Reebok Eurocamp in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

in 2006 and 2008. Kalnietis had a breakout season in 2008–09, when he averaged 11.3 points in the Lithuanian League and 8.5 points and 3.0 assists in the EuroLeague. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss against the

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, t ...

on 10 December 2008. Kalnietis signed a three-year contract with the Benetton Treviso in June 2009. However, because he had another one-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas, FIBA arbiter's decided that he belonged to Žalgiris. On 27 December 2010, he signed a three-year extension with his hometown club Žalgiris Kaunas. In October 2012, however, he announced that he's interested in playing abroad for the first time in Russia's Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. On 5 October, he signed a three-year contract with the team. On 18 December 2013, Kalnietis was named Lithuania Basketball Player of the Year. On 27 April 2015, he parted ways with Lokomotiv. In July 2015, he joined 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 estab ...

for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League at ...

. On 17 July 2015, he returned to Žalgiris Kaunas, signing a one-year contract. On 23 January 2016, he left Žalgiris and signed a 1.5-year contract with

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. On 24 July 2018, Kalnietis signed a one-year contract with

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. In 2019, Kalnietis returned to the

PBC Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban (russian: ПБК «Локомотив Кубань») is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. The club participates in the VTB United League. The team is one of the top tier basketball teams in Russia. T ...

. On 25 October 2020, Kalnietis scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 17 assists and broke 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 ...

's all-time record of assists in a single game. On 21 June 2021, he has signed a two-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas, where his career had started.

National team career

Kalnietis started at point guard for the Lithuanian national basketball team that finished seventh in the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. He averaged 6.0 points and 2.8 assists. He also played at the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

, as a starter, and won a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

medal. He played in seven games for Lithuania at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, averaging 5.5 points. He led the Lithuanian national team during

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

to silver medals, averaging 12.1 points and 5 assists per game (the tournament's assist leader). He missed the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

, due to a clavicular dislocation, but returned to the national team at

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 ...

. During the same championship, on 7 September, versus the Belgian national team, he achieved the

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

's all-time single-game record of 13 assists, only to be tied days later for the same record by

Miloš Teodosić Miloš Teodosić ( sr-cyr, Милош Теодосић, born March 19, 1987) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the National Basketball ...

. The Lithuanian national team won their second straight silver medal in 2015, and Kalnietis was once again the tournament's assists leader, with an average of 7.8 assists per game. Furthermore, he dished out 70 assists in total, which is the all-time record of assists for a single EuroBasket. Kalnietis also remained assists leader in

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, averaging 7.2 per game.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="7", Žalgiris , 4 , , 1 , , 16.4 , , .600 , , .333 , , .333 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 6.8 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 13 , , 1 , , 12.8 , , .560 , , .333 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .1 , , 4.0 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 16 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .357 , , .167 , , .444 , , .7 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 10 , , 6 , , 24.6 , , .420 , , .310 , , .727 , , 2.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 8.5 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 16 , , 16 , , 30.1 , , .483 , , .275 , , .800 , , 2.8 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 9.0 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 15 , , 7 , , 22.2 , , .515 , , .371 , , .750 , , 2.8 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .1 , , 9.1 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 16 , , 12 , , 22.2 , , .408 , , .222 , , .636 , , 2.5 , , 3.7 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.6 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Lokomotiv , 24 , , 19 , , 28.1 , , .457 , , .250 , , .658 , , 3.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 9.4 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 14 , , 12 , , 23.6 , , .356 , , .300 , , .857 , , 2.2 , , 4.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.8 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ha ...

, 26 , , 9 , , 19.4 , , .435 , , .368 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .1 , , 7.2 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 20 , , 3 , , 16.3 , , .367 , , .382 , , .905 , , 1.8 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.5 , , 4.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 174 , , 86 , , 20.7 , , .441 , , .303 , , .698 , , 2.2 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.8 , , 7.2

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Lokomotiv , 12 , , 10 , , 33.7 , , .493 , , .298 , , .500 , , 2.9 , , 4.9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 13.4 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 5 , , 1 , , 12.8 , , .412 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.4 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 2 , , 22.1 , , .524 , , .389 , , .875 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.7 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 15 , , 25.0 , , .424 , , .360 , , .829 , , 2.9 , , 5.7 , , .9 , , .1 , , 10.2 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Lokomotiv , 10 , , 5 , , 24.5 , , .516 , , .296 , , .813 , , 2.3 , , 3.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.9 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 18 , , 17 , , 28.0 , , .581 , , .379 , , .760 , , 2.8 , , 7.1 , , .7 , , .2 , , 8.7 , , 13.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , 28 , , 25.6 , , .462 , , .340 , , .714 , , 2.4 , , 4.5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 10.2 , , 11.8

References

External links

Euroleague.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalnietis, Mantas 1986 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players ASVEL Basket players Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Kaunas BC Žalgiris players BC Žalgiris-2 players Lega Basket Serie A players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in France Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Italy Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian men's basketball players Olimpia Milano players Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Pallacanestro Treviso players PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players Point guards