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Laurynas Birutis

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Laurynas Birutis
Birutis in 2022
No. 15 – Žalgiris Kaunas
PositionCenter
LeagueLKL
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1997-08-27) August 27, 1997 (age 27)
Šiauliai, Lithuania
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
Listed weight114 kg (251 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2020Žalgiris Kaunas
2014–2017→Žalgiris-2
2017→Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
2017–2018→Šiauliai
2019–2020→CBet Prienai
2020–2022Monbus Obradoiro
2022–presentŽalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
Silver medal – second place 2016 Finland U20 National Team
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Greece U18 National Team

Laurynas Birutis (born 27 August 1997) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague.[1]

Professional career

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BC Žalgiris-2 and debut in the LKL (2014–2017)

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Birutis began his professional career when he signed with BC Žalgiris-2 in the summer of 2014. On 5 January 2016, he set a National Basketball League record with 23 rebounds in a game against BC Petrochema.[2] Later that season, he won silver medals with Žalgiris-2 after losing the final game against BC Sūduva.

On 14 April 2017, after dominating the second-tier National Basketball League by averaging 17.4 points, nine rebounds, 1.4 assists and two blocks per game, Birutis was invited to join Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in the top-tier Lithuanian Basketball League.[3][4][5] Birutis made a strong debut on 15 April 2017, scoring 17 points and grabbing four rebounds, but his team lost 92–89 after Justas Tamulis buzzer-beater.[6] Two days later, he recorded his first LKL win 96-89 against Neptūnas Klaipėda and was the second-best Vytautas' scorer with 19 points and six rebounds.[7]

BC Šiauliai (2017–2018)

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On 1 August 2017, Birutis was loaned his hometown club BC Šiauliai.[8] During the 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė quarterfinals against the Lithuanian champions Žalgiris Kaunas, Birutis played the best game of his career by scoring 35 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and blocking one shot, although his team lost 85–78.[9] On 18 April 2018, Birutis entered his name into the 2018 NBA draft.[10] During his second LKL season, he led the league in all three major statistical categories of his position, with 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.[11] For his performances throughout the campaign, Birutis received the LKL Most Valuable Player Award.[12] Furthermore, with his help, BC Šiauliai recovered from the league's worst record last season (6–30) and became a solid playoff participant by finishing fifth in the regular season (16–20).[13] At the season closing ceremony he was also named the LKL Best Young Player.[14] It was also announced that Birutis would return to Žalgiris for the 2018–19 season.

Žalgiris Kaunas (2018–2019)

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Birutis joined Lithuanian champions Žalgiris Kaunas and made his EuroLeague debut on 12 October 2018 against Saski Baskonia. He scored seven points in 10 minutes. Birutis struggled with injury since the start of the season and was unable to train due to pain, which led to surgery on 14 February 2019. On 1 June, he won his first LKL championship.

CBet Prienai (2019–2020)

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For the 2019–20 season, Birutis was loaned to CBet Prienai. On November 23, he made his return to the court, scoring nine points and four rebounds in 16 minutes, including the game-winning shot, in a thrilling 81–79 win over BC Pieno žvaigždės. He was later named LKL Player of the Month for February. He had his best game on 1 February 2020 against BC Neptūnas, in which he scored 25 points and collected 36 efficiency points. He finished the 2019–20 LKL season as the league leader in efficiency, averaging 20.4 PIR per game. Additionally, he ranked second in the league in both scoring and rebounding with 15.2 points and seven rebounds per game.

Monbus Obradoiro (2020–2022)

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On July 24, 2020, Birutis signed a two-year contract with Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB.[15] On 28 September 2020, Birutis was named Liga ACB MVP of September after averaging 19.3 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block per game.[16]

Žalgiris Kaunas (2022–present)

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On 10 June 2022, Birutis returned to Žalgiris Kaunas, signing a two-year deal.[17] He was named to the All-LKL Team for two consecutive seasons, in 2023 and 2024. On 9 April 2024, Birutis signed a contract extension through 2026.[18]

National team career

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Laurynas Birutis debuted for the Lithuania men's u-16 basketball team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Ukraine. He won bronze medals with Lithuania men's u-18 basketball team at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Birutis, along with his teammates and generational peers Tadas Sedekerskis and Martynas Varnas, was invited to play at the FIBA's Youth All-Star Game during EuroBasket 2015.[19] On 26 February 2018, Birutis made his debut with the Lithuania men's national basketball team by scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, helping to beat the Kosovo national basketball team 106–50 during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification.[20]

He had his second opportunity with the senior Lithuanian national team in a EuroBasket 2022 qualification game against the Czech Republic. He scored 17 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes, leading the team in +/- value (+20) in 97–89 comeback victory.

Personal life

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Laurynas is the son of former long-time BC Šiauliai player Sigitas Birutis.[21]

Career statistics

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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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2018–19 Žalgiris 17 0 6.9 .586 — .706 .9 .1 .1 .3 2.7 2.5
2022–23 37 1 13.1 .635 — .736 3.1 .4 .2 .3 5.4 7.1
2023–24 34 19 15.1 .645 — .618 3.7 .6 .2 .4 7.5 8.9
Career 88 20 12.7 .636 .680 2.9 .4 .2 .4 5.7 6.8

References

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  1. ^ "Laurynas Birutis / Žaidėjai".
  2. ^ "Nacionalinė krepšinio lyga - NKL".
  3. ^ Malinauskas, Lukas. "Išaugęs pasitikėjimas savimi paruošė Lauryną Birutį galingam debiutui LKL čempionate". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Žaidėjas". www.nklyga.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  5. ^ ""Vytautas" stiprinasi "Mažeikių" vedliu ir NKL siautusiu Biručiu". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Laurynas Birutis galingai debiutavo LKL pirmenybėse". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Fantastiškas T.Delininkaitis buvo per kietas riešutas "Neptūnui" – "Vytautas" pakilo į penktąją vietą | Krepsinis.net". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. ^ ""Šiauliai" priekinę liniją papildė L.Biručiu". krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Įspūdingo Biručio šou "Šiauliams" neužteko – "Žalgiris" žengė į taurės pusfinalį". DELFI. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  10. ^ @DraftExpress (16 April 2018). "7'1 Lithuanian Laurynas Birutis, a potential 2nd rounder, declared for the NBA draft, his agent Sarunas Broga told…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Žaidėjų statistika". lkl.lt. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Birutis – naudingiausias LKL reguliariojo sezono žaidėjas". DELFI.lt. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Turnyro lentelė". www.lkl.lt. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Sezono uždarymo šventė: LKL titulai byrėjo žalgiriečiams". 15min.lt/24sek. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Obradoiro officially signs Laurynas Birutis". Sportando. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  16. ^ "Laurynas Birutis pripažintas ACB lygos mėnesio MVP". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Laurynas Birutis returned to Zalgiris Kaunas". Eurohoops. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Laurynas Birutis pens extension at Zalgiris". EuroLeague. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Trys Lietuvos jauniai pakviesti į Europos jaunųjų žvaigždžių mačą". BasketNews.lt. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Jauna Lietuvos rinktinė su kaupu išnaudojo savo šansą: antrąkart sutriuškintas Kosovas". DELFI.lt. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  21. ^ "DraftExpress - Laurynas Birutis DraftExpress Profile: Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook". DraftExpress. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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