Dairis Bertāns

From 2004 to 2006, Bertāns played for Valmiera and its junior team. In 2006, he signed with ASK Rīga. In 2006–07, he played for ASK Rīga's junior team, and in 2007–08, made his debut for the senior squad.

In March 2009, he left ASK Rīga following the club's financial difficulties and signed a two-year deal with Ventspils.[1]

In August 2010, he signed a two-year deal with VEF Rīga.[2] VEF Rīga's coach at the time, Rimas Kurtinaitis, saw potential in Bertāns as a point guard despite primarily being a shooting guard. So, during the 2010–11 season, Bertāns developed point guard skills to a different level, and was one of the key factors in VEF Rīga's first championship.

In July 2012, he re-signed with VEF Rīga on a three-year deal.[3]

In June 2013, Bertāns parted ways with VEF Rīga to sign a three-year deal with Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB.[4] In one of his first games with Bilbao he scored 19 points in a preseason game against Philadelphia 76ers.[5]

In July 2014, Bertāns joined the Boston Celtics for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[6]

In his second season with Bilbao, Bertāns helped the team to reach the 2015 ACB Playoffs as the fifth seed, but they eventually lost to Valencia in the Quarterfinals.

In July 2015, Bertāns joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 11.3 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 in three games played for the Spurs.[7]

On January 20, 2016, Bertāns recorded a season-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-11 from three-point range, along with four rebounds and two assists in a 76-78 loss to Bayern Munich.[8]

On July 13, 2016, Bertāns signed a 1+1-year deal with Turkish club Darüşşafaka Doğuş under head coach David Blatt.[9] On January 12, 2017, Bertāns recorded a career-high 29 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, along with five assists in a 98–89 win over Baskonia.[10] Bertāns helped the team to reach the 2017 EuroLeague Playoffs as the eighth seed, but they eventually were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Quarterfinals.

Bertāns with Olimpia Milano in November 2017

On July 10, 2017, Bertāns signed with Italian club Olimpia Milano.[11] In his first season with Milano, Bertāns helped Milano to win the 2018 Italian League championship.

On June 29, 2018, Bertāns re-signed with Milano for the 2018–19 season.[12] However, on March 1, 2019, Bertāns parted ways with Milano so he can continue the season in the NBA.[13]

On March 2, 2019, Bertāns signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.[14] Bertāns later made his NBA debut eight days later, recording just one assist in six minutes of action in a 128–116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[15] He then recorded a rebound two days later in a 130–113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[16] He made his first basket with a three-pointer in a 138–136 overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on March 16.[17] On July 7, 2019, he was waived by the Pelicans.[18]

On July 8, 2019, Bertāns signed a two-year contract with Khimki,[19] reuniting with the head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis.[20] He played in 21 out of 28 Euroleague games[21] and BC Khimki won 13 games, placing them 7th place in the standings,[22] which would qualify the team to playoffs. On May 25, 2020, Euroleague Basketball cancelled its competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23]

On July 27, 2021, Bertāns signed with Real Betis of the Liga ACB.[24]

On July 14, 2023 it was announced that after ten years away from home Dairis has returned to VEF Rīga, signing a two-year contract. [25]