Virginijus Praškevičius facts for kids
Power forward | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
4 March 1974 |||||||||||||
Nationality | Lithuanian | |||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | |||||||||||||
Listed weight | 221 lb (100 kg) | |||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||
Pro career | 1993–2011 | |||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||
1993–1995 | Lavera Kaunas | |||||||||||||
1995–1998 | Atletas Kaunas | |||||||||||||
1997 | LaCrosse Bobcats | |||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Žalgiris Kaunas | |||||||||||||
1998–2000 | Beşiktaş Spor Kulubu | |||||||||||||
2000–2002 | Telindus Ostende | |||||||||||||
2002–2003 | Ülkerspor | |||||||||||||
2003–2004 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | |||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Ülkerspor | |||||||||||||
2005–2006 | Upea Capo D'Orlando | |||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Baloncesto Fuenlabrada | |||||||||||||
2008–2009 | BC Šiauliai | |||||||||||||
2009–2010 | Qianjiang Tan Tan | |||||||||||||
2010 | Utena Juventus | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Virginijus Praškevičius was a professional basketball player from Lithuania. He was born on March 4, 1974. He played as a power forward and sometimes as a center. He was quite tall, standing at 2.06 meters (6 feet 9 inches).
Contents
Playing Career
Virginijus Praškevičius started his basketball journey with Banga Kaunas. In 1993, he joined Lavera Kaunas. Later, in 1995, he moved to Atletas Kaunas. There, he played alongside another famous player, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas.
In 1996, Praškevičius signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This is the top basketball league in the United States. However, he did not play any games for them. Instead, he was sent to the LaCrosse Bobcats in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He left the Timberwolves in early 1997.
Playing in Europe
In 1997, he returned to his hometown of Kaunas, Lithuania. He played for Atletas again and then for Žalgiris. With Žalgiris, he won the Saporta Cup, an important European basketball competition.
After that, he played for two years with Beşiktaş Spor Kulubu in the Turkish Basketball League. In 2000, he moved to Basketball Club Oostende in Belgium. There, he helped his team win the Belgian National Championship twice. He was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league once.
From 2002 to 2005, Praškevičius played for Ülkerspor in Turkey. During this time, he also played one season for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. With Ülkerspor, he won the Turkish National Cup two times.
Later, in 2005, he played for Upea Capo d'Orlando in Italy's top basketball league. In 2006, he played for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in the Spanish ACB league. His last professional team was Utena Juventus in Lithuania. He stopped playing professional basketball in the spring of 2010, when he was 36 years old.
National Team Career
Virginijus Praškevičius also played for the Lithuanian national basketball teams.
Junior National Team
He was part of the Lithuania Under-22 junior national team. With this team, he won a gold medal at the 1996 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. This was a big win for him and his country.
Senior National Team
He was also a key player for the senior Lithuanian national team. He played in several major international tournaments:
- EuroBasket 1997
- 1998 FIBA World Championship
- EuroBasket 1999
- 2003 EuroBasket
At the 2003 EuroBasket, he helped his team win a gold medal. This was a very proud moment for him and for Lithuanian basketball.
Career Statistics
Here are some of Virginijus Praškevičius's statistics from playing in the EuroLeague, a major European basketball competition.
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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001–02 | Telindus Ostende | 14 | 14 | 29.4 | .456 | .325 | .721 | 6.1 | 1.1 | .9 | .5 | 15.9 | 13.0 |
2002–03 | Ülkerspor | 20 | 19 | 28.4 | .473 | .449 | .625 | 4.6 | 1.6 | .9 | .2 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
2004–05 | Ülkerspor | 22 | 5 | 17.2 | .428 | .403 | .583 | 3.1 | .6 | .6 | .0 | 5.4 | 4.9 |
Career | 56 | 38 | 24.9 | .457 | .403 | .676 | 4.4 | 1.1 | .8 | .2 | 9.9 | 8.9 |
See also
In Spanish: Virginijus Praškevičius para niños