Mantas Kalnietis

Mantas Kalnietis (born 6 September 1986) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player who last played for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He was also a member of the Lithuanian national basketball team. He would preferably take the point guard position, but could play shooting guard as well.

Mantas Kalnietis
Mantas Kalnietis with Žalgiris in 2021
Personal information
Born (1986-09-06) 6 September 1986
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2008: undrafted
Playing career2003–2023
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number9
Career history
2003–2012Žalgiris Kaunas
2003–2006→Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school
2012–2015Lokomotiv Kuban
2015–2016Žalgiris Kaunas
2016–2018Olimpia Milano
2018–2019ASVEL
2019–2021Lokomotiv Kuban
2021–2023Žalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2010 Turkey
EuroBasket
Silver medal – second place2013 Slovenia
Silver medal – second place2015 France
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
Silver medal – second place2005 RussiaTeam

Early years

Kalnietis spent two and a half seasons with the LKKA-Žalgiris. He averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 assists in his second season.[1]

Professional career

Kalnietis made his pro debut in February 2006 with the Žalgiris Kaunas. He averaged 6.8 points on 65 percent shooting in the EuroLeague.

Kalnietis helped Žalgiris win a Baltic League title in 2008, two Lithuanian League titles in 2007 and 2008 and two Lithuanian Cups in 2007 and 2008. He also led the team to a 2007 ULEB Summer League title, where he was named MVP.[2]

He competed at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso in 2006 and 2008.[3][4]

Kalnietis had a breakout season in 2008–09, when he averaged 11.3 points in the Lithuanian League and 8.5 points and 3.0 assists in the EuroLeague. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss against the Montepaschi Siena on 10 December 2008.[5]

Kalnietis signed a three-year contract with the Benetton Treviso in June 2009.[6][7] However, because he had another one-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas, FIBA arbiter's decided that he belonged to Žalgiris.[8] On 27 December 2010, he signed a three-year extension with his hometown club Žalgiris Kaunas.[9] In October 2012, however, he announced that he's interested in playing abroad for the first time in Russia's Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. On 5 October, he signed a three-year contract with the team.[10] On 18 December 2013, Kalnietis was named Lithuania Basketball Player of the Year.[11] On 27 April 2015, he parted ways with Lokomotiv.[12]

In July 2015, he joined the Indiana Pacers for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[13] On 17 July 2015, he returned to Žalgiris Kaunas, signing a one-year contract.[14] On 23 January 2016, he left Žalgiris and signed a 1.5-year contract with Olimpia Milano.[15]

On 24 July 2018, Kalnietis signed a one-year contract with ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A.[16]

In 2019, Kalnietis returned to the PBC Lokomotiv Kuban.[17] On 25 October 2020, Kalnietis scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 17 assists and broke the VTB United League's all-time record of assists in a single game.[18]

On 21 June 2021, he has signed a two-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas, where his career had started.[19]

National team career

Kalnietis started at point guard for the Lithuanian national basketball team that finished seventh in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He averaged 6.0 points and 2.8 assists. He also played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, as a starter, and won a bronze medal. He played in seven games for Lithuania at the 2012 Summer Olympics, averaging 5.5 points.[20] He led the Lithuanian national team during EuroBasket 2013 to silver medals, averaging 12.1 points and 5 assists per game (the tournament's assist leader[21]). He missed the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, due to a clavicular dislocation, but returned to the national team at EuroBasket 2015.[22] During the same championship, on 7 September, versus the Belgian national team, he achieved the EuroBasket's all-time single-game record of 13 assists, only to be tied days later for the same record by Miloš Teodosić.[23] The Lithuanian national team won their second straight silver medal in 2015, and Kalnietis was once again the tournament's assists leader, with an average of 7.8 assists per game. Furthermore, he dished out 70 assists in total, which is the all-time record of assists for a single EuroBasket.[24] Kalnietis also remained assists leader in EuroBasket 2017, averaging 7.2 per game.[25]

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
2005–06 Žalgiris 4116.4.600.333.3332.02.01.3.56.88.5
2006–07 13112.8.560.333.5001.21.3.8.14.04.2
2007–08 1607.3.357.167.444.7.8.1.01.61.1
2008–09 10624.6.420.310.7272.33.01.2.28.57.3
2009–10 161630.1.483.275.8002.83.61.0.29.010.2
2010–11 15722.2.515.371.7502.81.9.2.19.18.7
2011–12 161222.2.408.222.6362.53.7.6.17.67.6
2013–14 Lokomotiv 241928.1.457.250.6583.04.81.0.19.411.8
2015–16 Žalgiris 141223.6.356.300.8572.24.1.7.16.85.9
2016–17 Milano 26919.4.435.368.6672.32.9.8.17.27.6
2017–18 20316.3.367.382.9051.82.1.5.14.54.9
Career 1748620.7.441.303.6982.22.9.7.16.87.2

EuroCup
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2012–13† Lokomotiv 121033.7.493.298.5002.94.9.4.313.414.2
2014–15 5112.8.412.2861.000.81.6.2.23.42.0
2015–16 Milano 6222.1.524.389.8751.32.31.2.29.79.7
2018–19 ASVEL 18 1525.0.424.360.8292.95.7.9.110.213.6
2019–20 Lokomotiv 10524.5.516.296.8132.33.5.5.26.98.7
2020–21 181728.0.581.379.7602.87.1.7.28.713.4
Career 412825.6.462.340.7142.44.5.7.210.211.8

References
  1. "Mantas Kalnietis". BasketNews.lt.
  2. "Mantas Kalnietis: Miscellaneous". Euroleague.net. 6 September 1986.
  3. Mantas Kalnietis: Notes
  4. "2008 Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, Day Two". Draftexpress.com.
  5. "Mantas Kalnietis: Sezono lygos statistika". Basketnews.lt. 6 September 1986.
  6. Mantas Kalnietis to Benetton Treviso for 3 years
  7. "Mantas Kalnietis signs with Benetton Treviso". Sportando.net.
  8. FIBA arbiter's decision: Mantas Kalnietis – Zalgiris Kaunas player. Archived 31 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Zalgiris, Kalnietis agree for 3 more years". Euroleague.net. 27 December 2010.
  10. Lokomotiv Kuban signs Mantas Kalnietis to a three-year deal
  11. Geriausi 2013 metų Lietuvos krepšininkai – M. Kalnietis ir L. Pikčiutė! (in Lithuanian)
  12. Mantas Kalnietis and Lokomotiv Kuban part ways
  13. 2015 Indiana Pacers Orlando Pro Summer League Roster
  14. Zalgiris brings back Kalnietis
  15. EA7 bolsters backcourt with former champ Kalnietis
  16. "Mantas KALNIETIS, un meneur d'expérience à l'ASVEL Basket". Asvel Basket (in French). 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  17. "Iš "Lokomotiv" stratego lūpų – ditirambai Krasnodare rekordininku tapusiam Kalniečiui". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  18. "Įspūdingas lietuvių vakaras Lenkijoje: Kalnietis pagerino Vieningosios lygos rekordą". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  19. Maggi, Alessandro (21 June 2021). "Mantas Kalnietis officially signs with Zalgiris Kaunas". Sportando. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  20. "Mantas Kalnietis Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  21. Players - Statistical Leaders (assists) Archived 11 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, EuroBasket2013.com (in English)
  22. "Dvejonės baigėsi – Jonas Kazlauskas paskelbė galutinį rinktinės dvyliktuką". 24sek.lt. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  23. "Kalnietis – Europos čempionatų rekordininkas". BasketNews.lt. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  24. "Į Lietuvą Mantas Kalnietis grįžta su Europos čempionatų rekordu". 24sek.lt. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  25. "Players statistics of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 - FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
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