Rimantas Kaukėnas

Rimantas "Rimas" Kaukėnas (born April 11, 1977) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. His long career has taken him to a number of countries, finding the most success in Italy. He has also been a member of the senior men's Lithuanian national team. Playing primarily at the shooting guard position, he can also play as a point guard.

Rimantas Kaukėnas
Rimantas Kaukėnas in 2013
Personal information
Born (1977-04-11) April 11, 1977
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
High schoolPrattsburgh Central School
(Prattsburgh, New York)
CollegeSeton Hall (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000 / Undrafted
Playing career2000–2016, 2017
PositionShooting guard
Career history
2000–2001Hapoel Galil Elyon
2001–2002Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2002–2003Oostende
2003–2004Telekom Baskets Bonn
2004–2005Pallacanestro Cantù
2005–2009Montepaschi Siena
2009–2010Real Madrid
2010–2012Montepaschi Siena
2012–2013Žalgiris Kaunas
2013Laboral Kutxa
2013–2016Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia
2017Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
EuroBasket
2007 Spain National Team

Professional career

Kaukėnas was a longtime member of Montepaschi Siena of the Italian Serie A.

On August 5, 2012, he signed for his homeland team Žalgiris Kaunas.[1]

He joined Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in December 2013, helping the side reach the finals of the 2014–15 Lega Basket Serie A. In July 2015, his contract was extended for another season.[2] On July 7, 2016, Kaukėnas retired from professional basketball.[3] On January 7, 2017, Kaukėnas came out of retirement and rejoined Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia for the rest of the season.[4][5]

National team

Kaukėnas played with the senior men's Lithuanian national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2001, the EuroBasket 2007, where he won a bronze medal, and the EuroBasket 2011. He also played at both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Kaukėnas established the Rimantas Kaukenas Charity Group, which aims to provide "magical moments" for children with life-threatening medical conditions.[6] He is married with former Swedish-Serbian basketball player Tanja Kostić, with whom he has three daughters. Tanja follows the activities of RK Charity Group, while Rimantas is playing during the season. He is fluent in English, Italian and Russian.

EuroLeague 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

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2005–06 Montepaschi Siena 141228.5.442.302.8471.92.01.7.015.112.9
2007–08 Montepaschi Siena 9528.8.431.290.8822.62.61.6.114.113.6
2008–09 Montepaschi Siena 18528.8.518.368.8472.31.71.1.014.812.8
2009–10 Real Madrid 181021.4.545.353.8291.11.31.6.010.38.1
2010–11 Montepaschi Siena 201125.3.445.308.9022.01.91.1.112.09.6
2011–12 Montepaschi Siena 6625.3.580.6431.0002.22.51.2.014.515.3
2012–13 Žalgiris Kaunas 241120.3.395.344.8822.11.9.8.07.86.4
2013–14 Laboral Kutxa 5112.3.583.0001.0001.41.0.6.23.63.8
Career 1146123.8.510.337.8741.91.81.0.011.610.2

Awards and achievements
Rimantas Kaukėnas with his career's last professional club Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in 2015.

References
  1. "Zalgiris Kaunas brings home veteran Kaukenas". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. "Reggio Emilia, Kaukenas stay together". EurocupBasketball.com. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. "Rimantas Kaukenas retires at 39". Sportando.com. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. "Kaukenas torna in campo. Mercoledì sarà presentato ai media". Pallacanestro Reggiana (in Italian). 7 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  5. "Il ritorno di Kaukenas: "Sono un rookie, cercherò di aiutare la squadra a crescere"". Pallacanestro Reggiana (in Italian). 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. "About us". KaukenoParama.lt. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.