Kaspars Bērziņš

Kaspars Bērziņš (born 25 August 1985)[1] is a Latvian professional basketball player. He has also represented the senior Latvian national team.

Kaspars Bērziņš
Bērziņš with Latvian national team in 2009
No. 23 – Rīgas Zeļli
PositionPower forward / center
LeagueLEBL
Personal information
Born (1985-08-25) 25 August 1985
Ogre, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLatvian
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2007: undrafted
Playing career2003–present
Career history
2003–2004BK Skonto
2004–2005Unicaja Málaga
2005–2006ASK Riga
2006–2009Barons LMT
2009–2010Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
2010Cáceres
2010–2014VEF Rīga
2014Río Natura Monbús
2014–2015Krasnye Krylia
2015–2016Nizhny Novgorod
2016Zenit Saint Petersburg
2016–2017Ogre/Kumho Tyre
2017Lokomotiv Kuban
2017–2018VEF Rīga
2018–2019BK Ogre
2019Saratov Avtodor
2019–2020BK Ogre
2020–2021BC Šiauliai
2021–2022Lietkabelis Panevėžys
2022Juventus Utena
2022–2023SIG Strasbourg
2023New Taipei CTBC DEA
2023–presentRīgas Zeļli
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Kaspars started playing basketball in his hometown of Ogre. Later he played for Skonto Riga, debuting in 2002–2003 season. His role increased in 2003–2004, when he averaged 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds for Skonto in the LBL and 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in the FIBA Europe League, now known as the FIBA EuroCup. In both of those seasons Bērziņš played together with Andris Biedriņš. In 2004 both of them left Skonto. Biedriņš was drafted in the NBA by the Golden State Warriors, while Bērziņš moved to Spain where he joined Unicaja Málaga. He briefly played for Unicaja's first team, where he competed in one game in the ACB league, scoring two points, but most of his season was spent with the junior team in the EBA, Spain's second division.

For the 2004–2005 season Bērziņš moved back to Latvia, playing a big role for Skonto. He averaged 13.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 21.3 minutes in the LBL and 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in four EuroCup Challenge games. After Skonto disappeared, Bērziņš moved to ASK Rīga, where he played the 2005–2006 season. In the following off-season Bērziņš signed with Barons LMT, where he played the next three seasons and won his first Latvian league title in 2008. During that season Bērziņš won the FIBA EuroCup as well. 2008–2009 was his best season with Barons, when he was the team's top inside presence for most of the season, averaging 14.0 points, 8.rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 28 games of domestic competition.[2]

In July 2009 Bērziņš participated in the NBA Summer League, playing for the Phoenix Suns.[3] After playing for Phoenix in Summer League competition, Bērziņš signed a contract with Spain's ACB League club Fuenlabrada.[4] Later he also played for Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto, but in July 2010 he signed a two-year contract with VEF Rīga.[5] He re-signed with VEF Rīga for three more years in 2012.[6]

In February 2014, he went back to Spain and signed with Río Natura Monbús for the rest of the 2013–14 ACB season.[7]

On 21 August 2014, Bērziņš signed with Russian club Krasnye Krylia for the 2014–15 season.[8] On 16 June 2015, he signed with Nizhny Novgorod.[9] In January 2016, he left Nizhny and signed with Zenit Saint Petersburg for the rest of the season.[10] For the 2016–17 season Bērziņš started with Latvian club Ogre/Kumho Tyre, but in January 2017 he returned to Russia and signed with Lokomotiv Kuban for the rest of the season.[11]

On February 21, 2023, Bērziņš signed with New Taipei CTBC DEA of the T1 League.[12]

Latvia national team

Kaspars Bērziņš averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for Latvia at the 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Bērziņš has been a regular member of the Latvia national team.

References
  1. "Kaspars Berzins Draft 2007 Profile". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  2. Player profile at basket.lv
  3. "Phoenix Suns Summer League roster 2009". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  4. baloncestofuenlabrada.com
  5. "VEF RIGA tabs Kaspars Berzins". Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  6. VEF RIGA re-signs Berzins through 2015
  7. Río Natura Monbús adds Kaspars Berzins (in Spanish)
  8. Kaspars Berzins and Scottie Reynolds sign with Krasnye Krylya Samara
  9. Kaspars Berzins moves to Nizhny Novgorod
  10. Kaspars Berzins signing with Zenit St. Petersburg
  11. Lokomotiv Kuban signs Kaspars Berzins
  12. "7呎歐陸長人加盟特攻！光哥：兼具外線投射能力". ETtoday. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
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