Dairis Bertāns (born 9 September 1989) 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 (appro ...

player for VEF Rīga of the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. Bertāns also plays for the Latvia national basketball team. He is the older brother of

Dāvis Bertāns Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Dubai Basketball of the ABA League. Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 42nd pick in the 2011 NBA draft ...

. He is a ,

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 basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

Professional career

Latvia (2004–2013)

From 2004 to 2006, Bertāns played for

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

and its junior team. In 2006, he signed with ASK Rīga. In 2006–07, he played for ASK Rīga's junior team, and in 2007–08, he made his debut for the senior squad. In March 2009, he left ASK Rīga following the club's financial difficulties and signed a two-year deal with

Ventspils Ventspils () 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 is situated on the Venta River and ...

. In August 2010, he signed a two-year deal with VEF Rīga. VEF Rīga's coach at the time,

Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team, Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was ...

, saw potential in Bertāns as a point guard despite primarily being a shooting guard. So, during the 2010–11 season, Bertāns developed

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

skills to a different level, and was one of the key factors in VEF Rīga's first championship. In July 2012, he re-signed with VEF Rīga on a three-year deal.

Bilbao Basket (2013–2016)

In June 2013, Bertāns parted ways with VEF Rīga to sign a three-year deal with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. T ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. In one of his first games with Bilbao, he scored 19 points in a preseason game against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. In July 2014, Bertāns joined 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In his second season with Bilbao, Bertāns helped the team to reach the 2015 ACB Playoffs as the fifth seed, but they eventually lost to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in the quarterfinals. In July 2015, Bertāns joined the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...

. He averaged 11.3 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 in three games played for the Spurs. On 20 January 2016, Bertāns recorded a season-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-11 from three-point range, along with four rebounds and two assists in a 76–78 loss to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

Darüşşafaka (2016–2017)

On 13 July 2016, Bertāns signed a 1+1-year deal with Turkish club Darüşşafaka Doğuş under head coach David Blatt. On 12 January 2017, Bertāns recorded a career-high 29 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, along with five assists in a 98–89 win over Baskonia. Bertāns helped the team to reach the 2017 EuroLeague Playoffs as the eighth seed, but they eventually were eliminated by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the quarterfinals.

Olimpia Milano (2017–2019)

On 10 July 2017, Bertāns signed with Italian club

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 ...

. In his first season with Milano, Bertāns helped Milano to win the 2018 Italian League championship. On 29 June 2018, Bertāns re-signed with Milano for the 2018–19 season. However, on 1 March 2019, Bertāns parted ways with Milano so he can continue the season in the NBA.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019)

On 2 March 2019, Bertāns signed with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. Bertāns later made his NBA debut eight days later, recording just one assist in six minutes of action in a 128–116 loss to 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. He then recorded a rebound two days later in a 130–113 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He made his first basket with a three-pointer in a 138–136 overtime loss to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

on 16 March. On 7 July 2019, he was waived by the Pelicans.

Khimki (2019–2021)

On 8 July 2019, Bertāns signed a two-year contract with

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

, reuniting with head coach

. He played in 21 out of 28

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

games and BC Khimki won 13 games, placing them 7th place in the standings, which would qualify the team to

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s. On 25 May 2020, Euroleague Basketball cancelled its competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real Betis (2021–2023)

On 27 July 2021, Bertāns signed with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

of the

Return to VEF Rīga (2023–present)

On 14 July 2023, it was announced that after ten years away from home, Bertāns had returned to VEF Rīga, signing a two-year contract.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Darüşşafaka , 32 , , 7 , , 16.1 , , .463 , , .500 , , .836 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.4 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Milano Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nearly 1.4 million, while i ...

, 28 , , 4 , , 18.4 , , .417 , , .409 , , .857 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.1 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 22 , , 11 , , 16.6 , , .479 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .536* , , .824 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .7 , , , , 6.4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 21 , , 7 , , 16.9 , , .438 , , .429 , , .800 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , , , 4.6 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , 20 , , 6 , , 17.2 , , .344 , , .348 , , .857 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4 , , 2.7 , -class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;", Career , 123 , , 35 , , 17.0 , , .429 , , .441 , , .840 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.1 , , 4.5

National team career

Bertāns has been member of the Latvian U-16, U-19 and U-20 national teams, as well as the senior national team. He led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2007 U18 European Championship in Madrid, Spain. He has since represented the Latvia national team at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 champions ...

. Furthermore, he was also the leading scorer (14.1 ppg) for Latvia in 2012, when he helped Latvia earn a spot in

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 men's national basketball ...

. Bertāns was a key player for Latvia during

where he averaged 10.9 ppg. In his best game of the tournament Bertāns had a 28-point performance against eventual champs France. He returned for

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 Sept ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, helping Latvia get to the quarterfinal round on both occasions.

Statistics

Personal life

Bertāns' brother, Dāvis, is also a professional basketball player. Their father, Dainis, was a professional basketball player and is currently a youth coach. Their mother is a sports teacher and a former high-level rower. During his childhood, Bertāns was raised in Latvia's northernmost town, Rūjiena, until his parents moved to the capital city,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

References

External links

*
Dairis Bertāns
at acb.com
Dairis Bertāns
at eurobasket.com
Dairis Bertāns
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertāns, Dairis 1989 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players ASK Riga players Bilbao Basket players BK VEF Rīga players BK Ventspils players Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Latvian expatriate basketball people in Spain Latvian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Latvian expatriate basketball people in the United States Latvian men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players NBA players from Latvia New Orleans Pelicans players Olimpia Milano players People from Rūjiena Real Betis Baloncesto players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Valmiera Sportspeople from Vidzeme Undrafted NBA players