Artūrs Mārtiņš Žagars (born 21 April 2000) is a Latvian professional basketball player for BC Wolves of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), on a loan from Fenerbahçe Beko. Standing at 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in), he primarily plays at the point guard position.
 Žagars with Latvia men's national basketball team in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 32 – BC Wolves | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | Lithuanian Basketball League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 April 2000 Riga, Latvia | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 78 kg (172 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–2022 | Joventut Badalona | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | →CB Prat | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | →Kalev/Cramo | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | →Basketball Löwen Braunschweig | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Nevėžis Kėdainiai | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Fenerbahçe Beko | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | →BC Wolves | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early career edit
Žagars spent much of his early career playing for Latvian club BS DSN Riga.[1]
Professional career edit
In 2017, Žagars signed a long-term contract with Spanish club Joventut Badalona. On 11 March 2018, Žagars made his Liga ACB debut, scoring two points in seven minutes versus Baskonia.[1]
In November 2018, Žagars suffered a torn ligament in his ankle and was sidelined until early March 2019 after undergoing surgery.[2]
On 19 April 2019, Žagars declared for the 2019 NBA draft.[3][4]
On 16 February 2021, Žagars was loaned to Estonian powerhouse Kalev/Cramo.[5]
On 12 January 2022, he was loaned to Löwen Braunschweig of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[6]
On 20 July 2022, Žagars signed with Nevėžis Kėdainiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[7] In 22 league matches, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
On 18 September 2023, Žagars signed a three-year contract with Turkish giants Fenerbahçe.[8] He was subsequently loaned to Lithuanian club BC Wolves for the 2023–24 season. Already at the beginning of October, Žagars suffered a severe injury to the lateral ligament of his knee. Due to the injury, Žagars will have to miss at least five months.[9]
National team career edit
Žagars was named to the All-Star Five of the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Riga after averaging 18.9 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, while leading the Latvian national under-18 team to its first finals appearance and silver medal at the tournament.[10]
Žagars represented Latvia during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup which achieved 5th place during its debut.[11] Moreover, Žagars achieved the world cup's all-time record of assists by dishing out 17 assists in a game versus Lithuania.[11] In recognition of his individual play, Žagars was named to the All-FIBA World Cup Second Team.[12]
Career statistics edit
| 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 |
EuroCup edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Joventut Badalona | 10 | 3 | 10.4 | .385 | .333 | .750 | .7 | 1.8 | .5 | .0 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 2020–21 | 7 | 0 | 4.6 | .222 | .200 | .667 | .1 | .6 | .1 | .0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | |
| 2021–22 | 3 | 0 | 15.0 | .467 | .286 | .500 | .3 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 | 3.7 | |
| 2023–24 | Vilnius Wolves | 1 | 1 | 24.0 | .383 | .400 | .1000 | 1.0 | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | 10.0 | 7.0 |
| Career | 21 | 4 | 10.1 | .352 | .310 | .727 | .5 | 1.5 | .3 | .0 | 2.9 | 1.5 | |
References edit
- ^ a b Hein, David (30 March 2018). "Zagars inspired by former Joventut greats". EuroLeague. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "U19 World Cup an 'amazing opportunity' for Latvia to put name out there, Zagars says". FIBA. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ Askounis, John (20 April 2019). "Louis Olinde among latest Europeans entering NBA draft". EuroHoops. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Talantīgais Žagars pieteicies NBA draftam" (in Latvian). TV NET. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Arturs Žagars joins BC Kalev / Cramo". bckalev.ee (in Estonian). 16 February 2021.
- ^ "Europäisches Top-Talent Arturs Zagars verstärkt die Löwen". basketball-loewen.de (in German). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Kėdainių „Nevėžio-Optibet" atakoms diriguos latvis Artūras Martinas Žagaras". kknevezis.lt (in Lithuanian). 20 July 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Fenerbahce signs Arturs Zagars, will join Wolves on loan". EuroLeague. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Delfi (19 October 2023). "Oficiāli: Žagaram traumas dēļ būs jāizlaiž vismaz pieci mēneši, sliktākās prognozes nepiepildās". sports.delfi.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Serbia big man Pecarski named MVP, tops All-Star Five". FIBA. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Zagars' record-breaking assist tally caps Latvia's historic World Cup finish". BasketNews.com. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "World Cup 2023 All-Second Team, Best Coach and Best Defensive Player Awards revealed". FIBA. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
External links edit
- Artūrs Žagars at acb.com
- Artūrs Žagars at proballers.com
- Artūrs Žagars at realgm.com