Linas Kleiza

Linas Kleiza
Player information
birthday	3rd January 1985 (age 34)
place of birth	Kaunas , Lithuanian SSR , Soviet Union
size	203 cm
Weight	107 kg
position	Small forward / power forward
college	Missouri
NBA draft	2005 , 27th pick, Portland Trail Blazers
Clubs as active
2005–2009 Denver Nuggets 2009–2010 Olympiacos 2010–2013 Toronto Raptors 2013–2014 Fenerbahçe Ülker 2014–2015 Olimpia Milano
National team
000000000	Lithuania

Linas Kleiza ( ˈlinɐs ˈklæizɐ ; born January 3, 1985 in Kaunas , Lithuanian SSR , Soviet Union ) is a former Lithuanian basketball player.

Career

society

Kleiza's parents came to the US after the 1990s, and he himself followed suit at the age of 16. After a successful period in high school , where he was named Gatorade High School Player of the Year and also played alongside LeBron James on the Jordan Capital Classic team , he went to the University of Missouri . After his sophomore season, he signed up for the 2005 NBA Draft . He was selected in 27th place by the Portland Trail Blazers and transferred directly to the Denver Nuggets on the same day , where his playing time grew steadily. On January 17, 2008, he drew attention to himself with a career high of 41 points against the Utah Jazz .

In August 2009, Kleiza signed a two-year contract for the equivalent of 12 million US dollars with Olympiacos . In the following season he was the top scorer of the ULEB Euroleague . Kleiza then worked for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA from 2010 to 2013 , before returning to Europe and signing a contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe Ülker . In 2014/15 he played for Olimpia Milano .

Lithuanian national team

With the Lithuanian national team , Kleiza took part in the 2006 and 2010 World Championships , the 2007 European Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games . He won bronze medals at the 2007 European Championships and 2010 World Cup.

Medals
Country: Lithuania
European championships
bronze	2007 Spain	Lithuania
World championships
bronze	Turkey 2010	Lithuania

Web links

Commons : Linas Kleiza  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Linas Kleiza - player statistics on NBA .com (English)
• Linas Kleiza - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Linas Kleiza in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ nba.com - Nuggets' Kleiza signs 2-year deal with Olympiakos ( Memento from August 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive )