Rodions Kurucs facts for kids
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| No. 00 – UCAM Murcia | ||||||||||||||
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| Small forward | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 February 1998 Cēsis, Latvia |
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| Nationality | Latvian | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 228 lb (103 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Brooklyn Nets | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2012–present | |||||||||||||
| League | Liga ACB | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | VEF Rīga | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | FC Barcelona | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | →Barcelona B | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Brooklyn Nets | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | →Long Island Nets | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | Milwaukee Bucks | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Partizan | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | Real Betis | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | SIG Strasbourg | |||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Murcia | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Rodions Kurucs (born on 5 February 1998) is a professional basketball player from Latvia. He currently plays for UCAM Murcia in Spain's Liga ACB. Rodions is 6 feet 9 inches (206 cm) tall. He plays as a small forward, which is a key position in basketball.
Contents
Rodions Kurucs' Basketball Journey
Starting His Career in Latvia
Rodions Kurucs began his basketball journey in Latvia. In March 2014, he signed a contract with VEF Rīga. He had already played for their youth team, VEF Rīga Skola.
He started playing for VEF Rīga's main team in the 2014–15 season. He played in Latvia's top league, the LBL. He also played in the VTB United League and the EuroCup. The EuroCup is a major European basketball competition. In 2015, he also played in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament. This tournament features top young players.
Playing for FC Barcelona
In July 2015, Rodions joined FC Barcelona, a famous Spanish basketball team. He signed a four-year deal with them. For the 2015–16 season, he played with FC Barcelona's junior team.
After turning 18 in 2016, Rodions moved to FC Barcelona's reserve team, FC Barcelona B. This team plays in the LEB Oro, which is the second-highest league in Spain.
On 24 March 2017, Rodions played his first game in the EuroLeague. This is the top basketball league in Europe. He scored two points in three minutes of playing time. In July 2018, he left FC Barcelona. However, the club kept his rights in case he ever returned to play in Europe.
Entering the NBA Draft
The NBA draft is where professional basketball teams in the United States pick new players. Rodions first put his name in for the 2017 NBA draft. Many experts thought he would be picked early. But he decided to remove his name before the deadline.
He then entered his name again for the 2018 NBA draft. This time, he was ready to join the NBA.
Time with the Brooklyn Nets (2018–2021)
On 21 June 2018, the Brooklyn Nets picked Rodions. He was the 40th player chosen overall in the second round. A month later, he signed a contract with the Nets.
Rodions played his first NBA game on 17 October 2018. He scored three points. On 21 December, he scored a career-high 24 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers. Just two days later, he achieved his first double-double. This means he had 16 points and 10 rebounds in one game. On 26 December, he set a new career high with 12 rebounds.
In January 2019, Rodions was chosen to play in the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge. This game features the best young players in the NBA.
Moving to Other NBA Teams (2021)
On 14 January 2021, Rodions was traded to the Houston Rockets. This was part of a big trade involving several teams.
Later, on 19 March 2021, he was traded again. This time, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks. He played in five games for the Bucks before they released him on 12 May.
Playing in Europe Again (2021–Present)
After his time in the NBA, Rodions returned to Europe.
- Partizan (2021–2022): On 7 July 2021, he signed with KK Partizan in Serbia. He played for them until May 2022.
- Real Betis (2022): On 23 August 2022, he signed with Real Betis in Spain.
- SIG Strasbourg (2022–2023): On 19 December 2022, he moved to SIG Strasbourg in France.
- UCAM Murcia (2023–present): On 19 July 2023, he signed with UCAM Murcia in Spain, where he plays now.
Playing for His Country
Rodions has also played for the Latvian national basketball team. He played for the Latvian under-16 team in 2014. He helped Latvia win a silver medal at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. In that tournament, he averaged 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His great performance earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Career Statistics
Here are some of Rodions Kurucs' basketball statistics.
Regular Season Games
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Brooklyn | 63 | 46 | 20.5 | .450 | .315 | .783 | 3.9 | .8 | .7 | .4 | 8.5 |
| 2019–20 | Brooklyn | 47 | 9 | 14.6 | .446 | .367 | .632 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .5 | .1 | 4.6 |
| 2020–21 | Brooklyn | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | .333 | .500 | — | .6 | .4 | .0 | .0 | .6 |
| Houston | 11 | 0 | 6.8 | .238 | .133 | .500 | 1.0 | .4 | .5 | .4 | 1.2 | |
| Milwaukee | 5 | 0 | 6.8 | .625 | .750 | 1.000 | 1.8 | .8 | .6 | .0 | 3.0 | |
| Career | 131 | 55 | 16.1 | .444 | .329 | .739 | 3.1 | .9 | .6 | .3 | 6.0 | |
Playoff Games
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Brooklyn | 4 | 3 | 17.0 | .400 | .250 | .778 | 5.0 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 6.3 |
| 2020 | Brooklyn | 4 | 1 | 14.5 | .550 | .000 | .000 | 3.3 | .8 | .3 | .5 | 5.5 |
| Career | 8 | 4 | 15.8 | .475 | .125 | .636 | 4.1 | .8 | .4 | .3 | 5.9 | |
Rodions' Family Life
Rodions has a brother named Artūrs. Artūrs is also a professional basketball player.
See also
In Spanish: Rodions Kurucs para niños
Images for kids
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Rodions Kurucs playing basketball.
