Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player for
Dubai Basketball of the
ABA League
The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...
. Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the
Latvian national team. He was the 42nd pick in the
2011 NBA draft by the
Indiana Pacers.
Professional career
Kadeti (2007–2008)
In 2007–08, Bertāns played for ASK Kadeti II.
Riga (2008–2010)
Between 2008 and 2010, Bertāns played for BAA Riga of Latvia's second division. During this time, he also had two stints in the top division with
ASK Riga at the end of the 2008–09 season, and with BK Keizarmezs Riga at the start of the 2009–10 season.
Barons (2010)
Bertāns started the 2010–11 season with
BK Barons.
Olimpija (2010–2012)
In November 2010, Bertāns signed a multi-year deal with Slovenian club
Union Olimpija. Following the 2010–11 season, Bertāns was selected by the
Indiana Pacers with the 42nd overall pick in the
2011 NBA draft. However, his rights were immediately traded to the
San Antonio Spurs along with the rights to 15th overall pick
Kawhi Leonard for
George Hill.
Partizan (2012–2014)
In January 2012, Bertāns left Olimpija and signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Serbian club
Partizan Belgrade.
In the Serbian League finals series against
Crvena zvezda in June 2013, he tore the
ACL in his right knee, which sidelined him for nine months.
Bertāns returned to the court on 20 March 2014, against
Maccabi Tel Aviv, helping his team get a hard-fought
Euroleague Top 16 win against the favoured visitors by contributing two points, two rebounds and one assist in 15 minutes of action. Eight days later, on 28 March 2014, Dāvis scored team-high 20 points in a road Euroleague Top 16 loss to
Lokomotiv-Kuban. Partizan ended the season by winning its 13th and Dāvis' third consecutive
Serbian League title, defeating rivals Crvena zvezda 3–1 in the finals series. On 3 July 2014, Bertāns terminated his contract with the club.
Baskonia (2014–2016)
On 19 July 2014, Bertāns signed a three-year contract with Spanish club
Laboral Kutxa Baskonia.
On 26 March 2015, in a game against
Emporio Armani Milano, Bertāns tore the
ACL in his right knee, the same injury that sidelined him in 2013. He was subsequently ruled out for six to eight months. Over 22
Euroleague games, he averaged 11.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while also averaging 11.4 points in 25 games of the
Spanish League. In Laboral Kutxa Baskonia's very next game following Bertāns's injury, a Spanish League contest versus
Valencia BC, each Baskonia player wore Bertāns's number 42 in a show of support for their sidelined teammate.
On 14 July 2016, Bertāns and Baskonia agreed on a contract buyout.
San Antonio Spurs (2016–2019)
On 14 July 2016, Bertāns signed with the
San Antonio Spurs. He made his debut for the Spurs in their season-opener on 25 October 2016, scoring five points in four minutes off the bench in a 129–100 win over the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
. On 25 November 2016, he set a career high in scoring, pitching in 15 of the Spurs' 56 bench points to help San Antonio defeat 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), ...
109–103. On 7 January 2017, he scored 21 points in a 102–85 win over the
Charlotte Hornets. He went 4-of-5 on three-pointers in leading the Spurs in scoring for the first time in 2016–17. On 29 January 2017, against the
Dallas Mavericks, Bertāns became just the fourth Spurs rookie with at least 35 three-pointers and 15 blocks in a season, joining
Kawhi Leonard,
Manu Ginóbili and
Lloyd Daniels. On 11 March 2017, he had three three-pointers in a 107–85 win over Golden State to reach 51 three-pointers on the season. He became just the sixth Spurs rookie to hit 50 in a season. During his rookie season, he had multiple
assignments with the
Austin Spurs of the
NBA Development League.
Early on the 2017–18 season, Bertāns was twice assigned to the
Austin Spurs. On 8 January 2018, he scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting with six 3-pointers in a 107–100 win over the
Sacramento Kings. On 13 January 2018, he scored 18 points on a career-high six 3-pointers in a 112–80 win over the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
.
On 11 July 2018, Bertāns re-signed with the Spurs for two years and $14 million. On 27 January 2019, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 132–119 win over the
Washington Wizards.
Washington Wizards (2019–2022)
On 6 July 2019, Bertāns was traded from the
San Antonio Spurs to the
Washington Wizards in a three-team deal that also included the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...
, in which the Spurs received
DeMarre Carroll via sign-and-trade. In his first game against San Antonio following the trade, on 26 October 2019, Bertāns made all seven of his field goal attempts, including five three-pointers, and scored 23 points. On 22 November, he made six three-pointers and scored 20 points against the
Charlotte Hornets.
On 22 June 2020, three months into the NBA's hiatus, Bertāns decided to pull out of the NBA's
Orlando restart; he was the first player to do so. This decision was made for personal reasons. Bertāns was entering free agency and viewed sitting out as a preventative measure. Bertāns also had two previous ACL injuries. If the Wizards did not advance past the seeding games in Orlando, he stood to lose $520,000. The Washington Wizards fully supported Bertāns's decision and as anticipated did not ultimately qualify for the playoffs.
On 21 November 2020, Bertāns agreed to a five-year, $80 million deal with the Washington Wizards.
On 17 February 2021, Bertāns scored a career-high 35 points in a 130–128 win over the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
. He logged a career-best nine 3-pointers becoming the third player in team history to do so.
Dallas Mavericks (2022–2023)
On 10 February 2022, Bertāns, along with
Spencer Dinwiddie, was traded to the
Dallas Mavericks in exchange for
Kristaps Porziņģis.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2023–2024)
On 6 July 2023, Bertāns, along with the 10th pick of the
2023 NBA draft, was traded to the
Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the 12th pick of the draft.
Charlotte Hornets (2024)
On 8 February 2024, Bertāns was traded to the
Charlotte Hornets, along with
Tre Mann,
Vasilije Micić, a 2024 second-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and cash considerations, in exchange for
Gordon Hayward. On 6 July, he was waived by the Hornets.
Dubai Basketball (2024–present)
On 9 September 2024, Bertāns signed with the newly created
Dubai Basketball of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
in the
ABA League
The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...
. Over 32 games, he averaged 12.2 points and 3.2 rebounds on 47.2% shooting from the field. Dubai finished the season with loss in the
semifinals series to Partizan Belgrade.
National team career
Bertāns represented
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
at
EuroBasket 2011, averaging 5.6 points and 2 rebounds per game. He returned for
EuroBasket 2017, now in a more prominent role, averaging 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
Personal life
Bertāns' older brother,
Dairis, is also a professional basketball player; he formerly played for the
New Orleans Pelicans. 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
Rīga, Latvia's capital. Bertāns is fluent in the
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
.
Due to a childhood wood-cutting accident, Bertāns is missing part of the ring finger on his right hand.
Bertāns is a former vegan who currently eats a dairy-free
pescatarian diet; having difficulty with finding good vegan food when traveling with his team influenced Bertāns' decision to change his diet.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 67 , , 6 , , 12.1 , , .440 , , .399 , , .824 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , .4 , , 4.5
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 77 , , 10 , , 14.1 , , .440 , , .373 , , .816 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .4 , , 5.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 76 , , 12 , , 21.5 , , .450 , , .429 , , .883 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 8.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 54 , , 4 , , 29.3 , , .434 , , .424 , , .852 , , 4.5 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .6 , , 15.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 57 , , 7 , , 25.7 , , .404 , , .395 , , .870 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 11.5
, -
, style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 34 , , 0 , , 14.7 , , .351 , , .319 , , .933 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, 22 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .375 , , .360 , , .800 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , .3 , , 5.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, 45 , , 1 , , 10.9 , , .431 , , .390 , , .867 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,
, style="text-align:left;",
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
, 15 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .385 , , .417 , , .933 , , .7 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
Charlotte
, 28 , , 1 , , 20.8 , , .394 , , .375 , , .889 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , 8.8
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 475 , , 41 , , 18.0 , , .422 , , .396 , , .863 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .4 , , 7.7
Playoffs
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 13 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .444 , , .400 , , .667 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 5 , , 0 , , 16.4 , , .167 , , .188 , , .727 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 3.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, 5 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .333 , , .273 , , .600 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .2 , , 3.2
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Washington
, 4 , , 2 , , 26.5 , , .407 , , .348 , , 1.000 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .5 , , 9.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, 18 , , 0 , , 10.7 , , .400 , , .373 , , .833 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.1
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 45 , , 2 , , 12.7 , , .373 , , .339 , , .780 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.0
Euroleague
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2011–12
, style="text-align:left;",
Union Olimpija
, 10 , , 1 , , 15.6 , , .282 , , .217 , , 1.000 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.0 , , .6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2012–13
, style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",
Partizan
, 10 , , 1 , , 20.0 , , .385 , , .471 , , .625 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 6.6 , , 4.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2013–14
, 4 , , 2 , , 21.9 , , .435 , , .435 , , .000 , , 3.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , 12.5 , , 8.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2014–15
, style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",
Baskonia
, 22 , , 18 , , 21.9 , , .381 , , .355 , , .853 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .2 , , .5 , , 11.0 , , 6.5
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2015–16
, 15 , , 8 , , 20.7 , , .514 , , .474 , , .905 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , .4 , , 7.9 , , 6.9
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 61 , , 30 , , 20.2 , , .400 , , .388 , , .824 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , .4 , , 8.3 , , 5.4
See also
*
List of NBA single-season 3-point scoring leaders
References
External links
Dāvis Bertānsat aba-liga.com
Dāvis Bertānsat acb.com
at fiba.com
Dāvis Bertānsat euroleague.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertans, Davis
1992 births
Living people
2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players
ABA League players
ASK Riga players
Austin Spurs players
Basketball League of Serbia players
Charlotte Hornets players
Dallas Mavericks players
Dubai Basketball players
Indiana Pacers draft picks
KK Olimpija players
KK Partizan players
Latvian expatriate basketball people in Serbia
Latvian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Latvian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Latvian men's basketball players
Liga ACB players
NBA players from Latvia
Oklahoma City Thunder players
People from Rūjiena
Sportspeople from Vidzeme
Sportspeople from Valmiera
Power forwards
San Antonio Spurs players
Saski Baskonia players
Small forwards
Washington Wizards players