Linas Kleiza (pronounced [ˈlinɐs kleiˈzɐ]; born January 3, 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. Kleiza can play either forward position. After spending a year in Europe for Olympiacos Piraeus and reaching the Euroleague final, he signed a four year, $20 million contract prior to the 2010–11 NBA season with the Raptors.[1]
[edit] Early years
Kleiza attended the Montrose Christian School and graduated in 2003. He played on the Lithuanian Junior National Team that won the silver medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He led the tournament in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game on 58 percent shooting.[2]
[edit] College career
Kleiza played college basketball with the University of Missouri Tigers. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by the league coaches as a sophomore. He also earned All-Tournament honors at the 2005 Big 12 Tournament after averaging 29.5 points and 9 rebounds per game.
[edit] Club career
[edit] Denver Nuggets
Kleiza was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 27th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. The Trail Blazers then dealt his draft rights, along with Ricky Sanchez to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Jarrett Jack. Kleiza was seldom-used in his rookie season. He averaged 3.5 points and 8.5 minutes per game.
He improved on his three-point shooting in his sophomore year, making 83-221, after only making two three-pointers in his rookie year. He also saw some more time on the court and averaged 7.6 points on 42 percent shooting in 18.8 minutes per game. After the season, Denver picked up their team option on his contract for another season.
Kleiza became a big part of Denver's rotation in the 2007-08 season, mostly backing up Denver's starting small forward Carmelo Anthony. However, he was involved in a lot of trade talks, most notably a trade involving Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings.[3] On January 17, 2008, Kleiza scored a career high 41 points against the Utah Jazz.[4] His scoring average was up to 11.1 points per game and his shooting percentage was up to 47 percent.
Many expected Kleiza to make a similar leap in production in his fourth year in the league. However, most of his season averages were slightly off from the 2007-08 season. He averaged 9.9 points on 45 percent shooting. His minutes dwindled down in the playoffs. The Nuggets' head coach George Karl, said Kleiza played fewer minutes because he is not a playmaker.[5]
[edit] Olympiacos Piraeus
On August 10, 2009, Kleiza agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million (€8.6 million euros) gross income contract with the Greek League team Olympiacos Piraeus.[6][7] He averaged 17.2 points per game and grabbed 6.4 rebounds per game in the Euroleague, reaching the final with the Reds. Kleiza led the league in scoring, thus winning the Alphonso Ford Trophy.
[edit] Toronto Raptors
On July 7, 2010, Kleiza terminated his contract with Olympiacos. He was signed by the Toronto Raptors to a four-year, $20 million dollar gross income offer sheet.[8][9][10] In January 2011, he suffered a serious meniscal tear in his right knee and was out for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. On February 1, 2011, Kleiza underwent arthroscopic surgery. He returned to court on January 11, 2012 in a game against the Sacramento Kings. In 14 minutes of game action, he scored 10 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out an assist.
[edit] Lithuanian national team
Kleiza has also played with the senior Lithuanian national basketball team. He played at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and he won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIBA European Championship. He also played with Lithuania at the 2008 Olympics. After a poor performance in Eurobasket 2009, Kleiza led his team to a bronze medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, averaging 19.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 1.4 apg. He was chosen in the All-Tournament team. Because of his knee injury he wasn't able to help Lithuania in EuroBasket 2011.
[edit] Awards and accomplishments
[edit] NBA career statistics
[edit] Regular season
| Year |
Team |
GP |
GS |
MPG |
FG% |
3P% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
PPG |
| 2005–06 |
Denver |
61 |
2 |
8.5 |
.445 |
.154 |
.704 |
1.9 |
.2 |
.2 |
.2 |
3.5 |
| 2006–07 |
Denver |
79 |
14 |
18.8 |
.422 |
.376 |
.852 |
3.4 |
.6 |
.3 |
.2 |
7.6 |
| 2007–08 |
Denver |
79 |
13 |
23.9 |
.472 |
.339 |
.770 |
4.2 |
1.2 |
.6 |
.2 |
11.1 |
| 2008–09 |
Denver |
82 |
7 |
22.2 |
.447 |
.326 |
.725 |
4.0 |
.8 |
.4 |
.2 |
9.9 |
| 2010–11 |
Toronto |
39 |
23 |
26.5 |
.438 |
.298 |
.631 |
4.5 |
1.0 |
.5 |
.2 |
11.2 |
| Career |
|
340 |
59 |
19.9 |
.447 |
.336 |
.752 |
3.6 |
.8 |
.4 |
.2 |
8.6 |
[edit] Playoffs
| Year |
Team |
GP |
GS |
MPG |
FG% |
3P% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
PPG |
| 2005–06 |
Denver |
3 |
0 |
4.7 |
.375 |
.000 |
.000 |
1.3 |
.7 |
.0 |
.0 |
2.0 |
| 2006–07 |
Denver |
5 |
0 |
13.2 |
.231 |
.167 |
.500 |
1.6 |
.4 |
.0 |
.0 |
1.6 |
| 2007–08 |
Denver |
4 |
3 |
30.5 |
.537 |
.214 |
.692 |
6.5 |
.8 |
.2 |
.0 |
14.0 |
| 2008–09 |
Denver |
14 |
0 |
15.0 |
.470 |
.425 |
.750 |
3.2 |
.5 |
.4 |
.1 |
6.9 |
| Career |
|
26 |
3 |
15.8 |
.461 |
.344 |
.718 |
3.2 |
.5 |
.2 |
.0 |
6.4 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Kleiza, Linas |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
January 3, 1985 |
| Place of birth |
Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
Lithuanian
Igor Rakočević
