Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Šarūnas Jasikevičius listen? / I ( born March 5, 1976 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player who plays on the position of the point guards. He has next to his playmaker qualities an excellent throwing technique. Jasikevičius was thereby awarded 2003 Lithuania basketball champions for his excellent performance as Most Valuable Player. 2008 Jasikevičius was named one of the top 50 players in the history of the European League.

Career

Jasikevičius got his basketball basic training in the U.S., first at a high school and later at the University of Maryland. There he played for four years, from 1994 to 1998. 's NBA Draft 1998 elected him none of the then 29 NBA teams, and so Jasikevičius returned for a season to Lithuania for a top club Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. About the Station BC Olimpia Ljubljana he came in the fall of 2000 to FC Barcelona, with whom he won the 2003 Euro League. After winning the European Championship 2003, he was committed by the Israeli series champion Maccabi Tel Aviv, with whom he also won the ULEB Euro League 2004 and 2005.

After repeated Euro League 2005 profit Jasikevičius accepted a contract offer from the Indiana Pacers over 12 million U.S. dollars for three years. The Pacers Jasikevičius came mostly as a replacement for Jamaal Tinsley to use. During his rookie season, he scored an average of 7.3 points and 3.0 assists in 35 games. He set a Pacers rookie record for three-point throws transformed to (86). In addition, he was selected for the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge.

On 17 January 2006 Jasikevičius was traded along with Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Josh Powell to the Golden State Warriors. In exchange for Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod went to the Pacers. The Warriors Jasikevičius stood until 20 September 2007 contract.

On 25 September 2007, the Greek giants Panathinaikos announced the commitment of Jasikevičius. The Lithuanians signed a two-year contract to him an annual salary of 4.2 million euros guaranteed. Jasikevičius is now the highest paid basketball player in Europe of all time.

National

His strong performances during Euro 2003, he was able to repeat at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In the preliminary round match against the USA, he scored seven three-point goals and led the Lithuanian national team thus to a historic 94:90 victory over the U.S. team. However Jasikevičius could ( again against the United States ) do not repeat this performance in the following defeats his team's semi-final against Italy and in the match for bronze.

Recognition

Jasikevičius applies alongside Tony Parker as the best European point guard. He was named the best player of Lithuania in 2002, 2004 he arrived at the choice of the Gazzetta dello Sport as the best player in Europe ranked 2nd ( behind Dirk Nowitzki ). The amateur journalists the website Eurobasket.com elected him in 2003 and 2004 for best point guard in Europe and 2004 ( unanimously ) and the best basketball player in Europe. After the victory in the final of the Euro League 2005 he was elected MVP of the final game.

Title

• European Championship: 2003
• Winner ULEB Euro League: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009
• Slovenian Champion: 2000
• Spanish Champion: 2001, 2003
• Israeli champion: 2004, 2005
• Greek champion: 2008, 2009, 2010
• Turkish champions: 2011
• Slovenian Cup Winners: 2000
• Spanish Cup winners: 2001, 2003, 2013
• Israel State Cup winners: 2004, 2005
• Greek Cup winner: 2008, 2009, 2012
• Turkish Cup winner: 2011
• Bronze medal at the European Championships: 2007
• Bronze medal at the Olympic Games: 2000
• Participation in the NBA Playoffs 2007