Jānis Strēlnieks

Jānis Strēlnieks (born 1 September 1989) is a Latvian professional basketball player who last played for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He also represents the senior Latvia national team. Standing at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, he mainly plays at the shooting guard position.

Jānis Strēlnieks
Strēlnieks with the ball possession against France at the EuroBasket 2015
Free agent
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Personal information
Born (1989-09-01) 1 September 1989
Talsi, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLatvian
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight88 kg (194 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2011: undrafted
Playing career2007–present
Career history
2007–2011Ventspils
2011–2013Spartak Saint Petersburg
2013–2014Budivelnyk
2014–2017Brose Bamberg
2017–2019Olympiacos
2019–2021CSKA Moscow
2021–2022Žalgiris Kaunas
2022–2023AEK Athens
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Latvia
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place2007 SpainUnder-18

Professional career

Strēlnieks started his professional career in 2007, with Latvian team Ventspils, where he played for four years. In 2010, he was pursued by the EuroLeague club Union Olimpija, which was then head coached by Jure Zdovc. However, Ventspils didn't let him go to Slovenia. After all, in November 2011, he finally got a chance to play for coach Zdovc, as he was at the time coaching the Russian team Spartak Saint Petersburg,[1] that had bought out Strēlnieks' contract from Ventspils. He spent the next two seasons with Spartak. One of the highlights of his time in Spartak, was making the EuroCup's 2012 Final Four.

In August 2013, Strēlnieks joined the EuroLeague team Budivelnyk, signing a two-year contract with them.[2] Strēlnieks enjoyed a successful season with Budivelnyk, that included winning the Ukrainian Super League championship, and playing in the EuroLeague for the first time. However, after the season ended, he had to opt out of his contract, due to the unstable political situation in Ukraine at the time.[3]

In July 2014, he signed a one-year deal with the German club Brose Bamberg.[4] In the following three seasons, Strēlnieks won the German Basketball Bundesliga championship with Bamberg.[5] In the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons, Strēlnieks also played in the EuroLeague with Brose.

On 20 June 2017, Strēlnieks signed a two-year contract with Olympiacos, of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.[6]

On 8 July 2019, Strēlnieks signed a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow.[7] On 11 June 2021, Strēlnieks officially parted ways with the Russian club. In 70 games (16 starts), he averaged 6.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

On 29 July 2021, Strēlnieks signed a one-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League and the EuroLeague.[8]

On August 10, 2022, Strēlnieks joined AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League on a one-year deal.[9] On March 16, 2023, Strēlnieks suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture injury. In 15 domestic league games, he averaged 8.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists, playing around 21 minutes per contest.

National team career

Latvia junior national team

In 2007, Strēlnieks was a part of the Latvian Under-18 junior national team that won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, which was held in Madrid, Spain. He made a game-winning basket in the last seconds of regulation against Lithuania's Under-18 junior national team, in the bronze medal game.[10]

Latvia senior national team

Strēlnieks is a member of the senior Latvia national team. With Latvia, Strēlnieks played at the following tournaments: the EuroBasket 2011, EuroBasket 2013, EuroBasket 2015, the Belgrade 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and EuroBasket 2017.[11][12]

Career statistics
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
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2013–14 Budivelnyk 10622.5.509.4641.0001.42.6.9.08.18.4
2015–16 Bamberg 24424.2.476.404.9132.03.3.7.19.810.7
2016–17 22525.1.522.459.8922.23.5.6.111.712.8
2017–18 Olympiacos 34419.9.435.382.9181.32.1.6.07.57.1
2018–19 20520.4.495.459.8681.92.0.7.18.88.3
2019–20 CSKA Moscow 21616.0.538.417.9211.82.0.6.07.28.5
2020–21 26313.4.460.417.6430.81.6.3.04.43.2
2021–22 Žalgiris 232220.5.391.337.8571.71.8.7.16.55.6
Career 1805520.0.466.410.8911.62.3.6.07.97.9

Personal life

His older brother, Artūrs, is also a professional basketball player.

References
  1. "Jānis Strēlnieks pāriet uz Sanktpēterburgas 'Spartak'" (in Latvian). Delfi.lv. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  2. "BUDIVELNIK brings in playmaker Strelnieks". Euroleague.net. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  3. "Janis Strelnieks opts out of his contract with Budivelnyk". Sportando.com. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. "Brose Baskets puts Strelnieks at point". Eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. "Strēlnieks ar Brose Baskets kļūst par Vācijas čempionu basketbolā". Diena.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  6. "Olympiacos lands playmaker Strelnieks". Euroleague.net. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  7. "Janis Strelnieks joins CSKA with two-year deal". Eurohoops. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  8. "Zalgiris Kaunas signs Janis Strelnieks". Sportando. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  9. "Ο Στρέλνιεκς στη «Βασίλισσα»". aekbc.gr (in Greek). Online. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  10. Lithuania 72-74 Latvia FIBA Europe
  11. 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament profile
  12. EuroBasket 2017 profile
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