Darius Songaila facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Darius Songaila

Songaila playing for Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
Assistant coach
Personal information
Born	(1978-02-14) February 14, 1978 (age 46) Marijampolė, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Lithuanian
High school	New Hampton School (New Hampton, New Hampshire)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
College	Wake Forest (1998–2002)
NBA Draft	2002 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	2002–2015
Coaching career	2015–present
Career history
As player:
2002–2003	CSKA Moscow
2003–2005	Sacramento Kings
2005–2006	Chicago Bulls
2006–2009	Washington Wizards
2009–2010	New Orleans Hornets
2010–2011	Philadelphia 76ers
2011–2012	Galatasaray
2012	Blancos de Rueda Valladolid
2012–2013	Donetsk
2013–2014	Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2014–2015	Žalgiris Kaunas
As coach:
2015–2018	Žalgiris Kaunas (assistant)
2020–2024	San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Russian champion (2003) Turkish Super Cup winner (2011) Lithuanian champion (2015) Lithuanian Federation Cup winner (2015) AP honorable mention All-American (2002) Second-team All-ACC (2002) Third-team All-ACC (2000) As assistant coach: 2× King Mindaugas Cup winner (2017, 2018) 3× LKL champion (2016, 2017, 2018)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,415 (6.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,689 (3.4 rpg)
Assists	589 (1.2 apg)
Medals Men's Basketball Representing  Lithuania Summer Olympic Games Bronze 2000 Sydney EuroBasket Gold 2003 Sweden Bronze 2007 Spain

Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He played at the power forward and center positions.

Early years

Songaila started his basketball career with Lietuvos rytas Marijampolė in second-tier Lithuanian league, the LKAL in 1995. In 1997, he moved to the United States where he attended the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire. Songaila played the Nike Hoop Summit in 1998. He was also named to the All-European Under-22 Championship Second Team.

College career

Darius Songaila played college basketball at Wake Forest University. He was named Third Team All-ACC in 2000 and Second Team All-ACC in 2002. He was also named Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press as a senior.

Professional career

Songaila defending LeBron James

Songaila during his tenure with the Washington Wizards

Songaila was selected with the 50th pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, who eventually dealt his rights to the Sacramento Kings.

He joined CSKA Moscow for the 2002–03 season and won the Russian Basketball Super League. He signed with the Kings in June 2003, and averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 154 games (28 starts) over two seasons.

Songaila signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bulls in September 2005. He had his most successful season yet with the Bulls, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 62 games (7 starts). However, he suffered an ankle injury in March 2006 and missed the final 20 games.

On July 17, 2006, Songaila signed with the Washington Wizards. The deal reportedly was worth $23 million over five years. He missed the first 45 games after a surgery for a herniated disc and averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 37 games (1 start).

Songaila eventually became a big part of the Wizards' bench and an occasional starter. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2007–08. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Songaila became a starter because of the injuries suffered by teammates Brendan Haywood and Andray Blatche. He started a career-high 29 games and averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

On June 23, 2009, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas, and a first-round draft pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

On September 9, 2009, he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets along with Bobby Brown in exchange for Antonio Daniels and a 2014 second round pick.

On September 23, 2010, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers along with rookie forward Craig Brackins in exchange for Willie Green and Jason Smith. Songaila had career lows with the 76ers, notably in points (1.6 ppg). With the 2010–11 season coming to an end, he became an unrestricted free agent.

In July 2011, he signed a one-year contract with Galatasaray in Turkey worth $1.5 million.

In March 2012, several weeks after leaving Galatasaray, Songaila signed with Blancos de Rueda Valladolid. Later that year, he signed with BC Donetsk.

On October 8, 2013, he signed with Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for one season. On July 22, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas.

At the end of the 2014–15 season, he retired from the professional basketball.

Coaching career

Songaila with Žalgiris Kaunas in 2018

On August 5, 2015, Songaila was appointed as an assistant coach for Žalgiris Kaunas.

In August 2018, he became a quality assurance assistant in the video department for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In September 2019, Songaila was promoted to a player development assistant. In November 2020, Songaila was promoted to assistant coach.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague

See also

In Spanish: Darius Songaila para niños

• List of European basketball players in the United States