Zydrunas Ilgauskas facts for kids
Ilgauskas with the Cleveland Cavaliers in November 2009
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 5, 1975 Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Nationality | Lithuanian / American |
| Listed height | 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) |
| Listed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall |
| Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Pro career | 1993–2011 |
| Career history | |
| 1993–1996 | Atletas Kaunas |
| 1996–2010 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2010–2011 | Miami Heat |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 10,976 (13.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,191 (7.3 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,327 (1.6 bpg) |
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player. He played as a center, a position for tall players near the basket. Standing at 7 feet 3 inches, Ilgauskas played most of his career for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2010. He also played for the Miami Heat during the 2010–11 season.
Ilgauskas was known for his accurate jump shot and great rebounding. He also overcame many difficult injuries during his career. Fans nicknamed him Big Z. He holds the record for the most blocked shots in Cavaliers history. His jersey number 11 was retired by the team, a special honor. After retiring from playing, Ilgauskas worked for the Cavaliers as a special advisor.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting in Lithuania (1993–1996)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas began his professional basketball journey in his hometown of Kaunas, Lithuania. He joined the local club Atletas in 1993. During the 1994–95 season, he showed his talent by averaging 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.
Years with the Cleveland Cavaliers (1996–2010)
The Cleveland Cavaliers picked Ilgauskas as the 20th player in the 1996 NBA draft. He signed a contract with them in August 1996. Early in his career, he faced many foot and ankle injuries. He missed his entire first season (1996–97) because of a broken bone in his right foot.
Despite his injury struggles, Ilgauskas was named the most valuable player of the Rookie Challenge during the NBA All-Star Weekend in 1998. He was also chosen for the All-Rookie First Team for the 1997–98 season. He signed a big contract extension in 1998. However, he played in only five games over the next two seasons due to more foot surgeries.
He returned as the starting center for the Cavaliers in the 2000–01 season. But he got injured again in December 2000 and missed the rest of that season. This injury hurt the Cavaliers, who had been playing well with him.
Ilgauskas came back in December 2001, mostly playing as a backup. In the 2002–03 season, he averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. He was selected as an NBA All-Star for the first time. Even with his strong play, the Cavaliers had a tough season, finishing with one of the worst records in team history.
In 2003, the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James, a very talented young player. James, Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden became the main players for the team. Ilgauskas stayed healthy for the next three seasons, missing only nine games. He was chosen as an All-Star again in 2005.
In July 2005, Ilgauskas signed another contract extension with the Cavaliers. For the next four seasons, he was the team's starting center. The Cavaliers became a strong team, reaching the 2007 NBA Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009.
In 2009, the Cavaliers added Shaquille O'Neal to the team. This meant Ilgauskas would likely come off the bench. On December 2, 2009, Ilgauskas played a game against the Phoenix Suns and broke the team record for most career games played.
In February 2010, Ilgauskas was traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a big trade. However, the Wizards bought out his contract, making him a free agent. After a waiting period, Ilgauskas signed a one-year deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in March 2010. When he returned to play at Quicken Loans Arena, the home crowd gave him a huge welcome. Fans even called the arena "The Z" for that day.
The 2010 NBA playoffs were different for Ilgauskas, as he didn't play as much. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics.
On March 8, 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers honored Ilgauskas by retiring his number 11 jersey. This means no other Cavaliers player will wear that number. He was one of the first European players to receive such an honor from an NBA team.
Playing for the Miami Heat (2010–2011)
On July 17, 2010, Ilgauskas signed with the Miami Heat. He decided to join the Heat because his long-time teammate LeBron James and Chris Bosh also signed with the team. In December 2010, during the Heat's first game in Cleveland, fans cheered loudly for Ilgauskas during player introductions. The Heat reached the 2011 NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks.
In September 2011, Ilgauskas announced he was retiring from basketball. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and felt tired from years of playing.
National Team Experience
Ilgauskas first played for the Lithuania national team in 1994. He averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game during the EuroBasket 1995 qualifiers. He wanted to play for Lithuania in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the Cavaliers team did not allow him to play due to his history of injuries.
NBA Career Statistics
Regular Season Games
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Cleveland | 82* | 81 | 29.0 | .518 | .250 | .762 | 8.8 | .9 | .6 | 1.6 | 13.9 |
| 1998–99 | Cleveland | 5 | 5 | 34.2 | .509 | — | .600 | 8.8 | .8 | .8 | 1.4 | 15.2 |
| 2000–01 | Cleveland | 24 | 24 | 25.7 | .487 | .000 | .679 | 6.7 | .8 | .6 | 1.5 | 11.7 |
| 2001–02 | Cleveland | 62 | 23 | 21.4 | .425 | .000 | .754 | 5.4 | 1.1 | .3 | 1.4 | 11.1 |
| 2002–03 | Cleveland | 81 | 81 | 30.0 | .441 | .000 | .781 | 7.5 | 1.6 | .7 | 1.9 | 17.2 |
| 2003–04 | Cleveland | 81 | 81 | 31.3 | .483 | .286 | .746 | 8.1 | 1.3 | .5 | 2.5 | 15.3 |
| 2004–05 | Cleveland | 78 | 78 | 33.5 | .468 | .286 | .799 | 8.6 | 1.3 | .7 | 2.1 | 16.9 |
| 2005–06 | Cleveland | 78 | 78 | 29.3 | .506 | .000 | .834 | 7.6 | 1.2 | .5 | 1.7 | 15.6 |
| 2006–07 | Cleveland | 78 | 78 | 27.3 | .485 | .000 | .807 | 7.7 | 1.6 | .6 | 1.3 | 11.9 |
| 2007–08 | Cleveland | 73 | 73 | 30.4 | .474 | .000 | .802 | 9.3 | 1.4 | .5 | 1.6 | 14.1 |
| 2008–09 | Cleveland | 65 | 65 | 27.2 | .472 | .385 | .799 | 7.5 | 1.0 | .4 | 1.3 | 12.9 |
| 2009–10 | Cleveland | 64 | 6 | 20.9 | .443 | .478 | .743 | 5.4 | .8 | .2 | .8 | 7.4 |
| 2010–11 | Miami | 72 | 51 | 15.9 | .508 | .000 | .783 | 4.0 | .4 | .3 | .8 | 5.0 |
| Career | 843 | 724 | 27.2 | .476 | .310 | .780 | 7.3 | 1.1 | .5 | 1.6 | 13.0 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 10.5 | .556 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.5 | .5 | .0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | |
Playoff Games
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Cleveland | 4 | 4 | 36.8 | .571 | — | .520 | 7.5 | .5 | .5 | 1.3 | 17.3 |
| 2006 | Cleveland | 13 | 13 | 27.2 | .454 | — | .750 | 6.3 | .8 | .4 | 2.1 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | Cleveland | 20 | 20 | 32.5 | .492 | — | .838 | 9.7 | .9 | .5 | .8 | 12.6 |
| 2008 | Cleveland | 13 | 13 | 30.2 | .479 | — | .818 | 7.5 | 1.6 | .4 | 1.1 | 13.1 |
| 2009 | Cleveland | 14 | 14 | 29.1 | .449 | .154 | .636 | 7.8 | 1.2 | .4 | .9 | 10.5 |
| 2010 | Cleveland | 7 | 0 | 9.9 | .385 | — | .667 | 1.6 | .4 | .0 | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| 2011 | Miami | 9 | 8 | 11.6 | .467 | — | .667 | 3.6 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 3.6 |
| Career | 80 | 72 | 26.5 | .477 | .154 | .744 | 6.9 | .9 | .3 | 1.1 | 10.2 | |
Life After Playing Basketball
Working in the Front Office
On January 11, 2012, Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was hired as an assistant to the team's General Manager, Chris Grant. His job involved looking at new players, both young amateurs and professional players.
Coaching High School Basketball
On September 18, 2015, Ilgauskas joined Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He became an assistant coach for the boys' basketball team.
Personal Life and Family
Zydrunas Ilgauskas married his wife in the summer of 2004. In 2007, they experienced a sad loss of twins. In the summer of 2009, Ilgauskas and his wife adopted two brothers from his hometown of Kaunas, Lithuania. The boys were five and four years old at the time. Sadly, his wife passed away in September 2022.
Ilgauskas enjoys reading, especially books about military history. During his time as a player, he often read in the locker room before games.
In 2013, Ilgauskas became a citizen of the United States. Because of this, he gave up his Lithuanian citizenship, as Lithuania usually does not allow people to have two citizenships at once.
More to Explore
- List of tallest players in NBA history
- List of European basketball players in the United States
See also
In Spanish: Žydrūnas Ilgauskas para niños
