Zalgiris Kaunas was among the pleasant surprises of the 2016-17 as the Lithuanian champs performed as a consistently high level, which almost earned the team a playoff berth. In the end, it fell short at 14-16 and 10th place, but was in the hunt until the last rounds of the 30-game regular season. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius managed to inject his passion into a group of mostly local players, with a few foreign additions headlined by Kevin Pangos and Brock Motum. A 1-5 start probably conditioned Zalgiris's mental state in the following weeks, but the Lithuanian champs never quit. An impressive win over CSKA Moscow triggered a three-game winning streak that saw the club climb to 9-12 – and move within one win of the playoff zone. However losses to the eventual finalists, Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Istanbul in Rounds 22 and 24, respectively, derailed those playoff hopes. Still Zalgiris added a victory over Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens on the road to show that it remains one of the most-competitive teams in the league. The team rounded out a nice Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign with the usual Lithuanian League and cup double and bid farewell to a legendary player who announced his retirement after the last game of the season, Robertas Javtokas.

EuroLeague

SEASON COMPETITION RECORD FINISH 2016-17 EuroLeague 14-16 Regular Season 2015-16 EuroLeague 7-17 Top 16 2014-15 EuroLeague 10-14 Top 16 2013-14 EuroLeague 7-17 Top 16 2012-13 EuroLeague 14-10 Top 16 2011-12 EuroLeague 4-12 Top 16 2010-11 EuroLeague 6-10 Top 16 2009-10 EuroLeague 5-11 Top 16 2008-09 EuroLeague 2-8 Regular Season 2007-08 EuroLeague 9-11 Top 16 2006-07 EuroLeague 2-12 Regular Season 2005-06 EuroLeague 9-11 Top 16 2004-05 EuroLeague 8-12 Top 16 2003-04 EuroLeague 9-11 Top 16 2002-03 EuroLeague 5-9 Regular Season 2001-02 EuroLeague 5-9 Regular Season 2000-01 EuroLeague 6-6 Playoffs TOTAL: 122-196

History

Zalgiris Kaunas is a synonym for basketball in a country that lives and breathes the sport. Zalgiris was founded in 1944 by the best basketball players in Kaunas and the club needed just three years to win its first Soviet title. It became Soviet champion four other times – in 1951 and from 1985 to 1987, with the latter period going down as the team’s first golden age. With legends Arvydas Sabonis, Sergejus Jovaisa, Rimas Kurtinaitis and Valdemaras Chomicius taking charge, Zalgiris twice came within a victory of a European trophy, but lost the 1984 Saporta Cup final to Barcelona, and came up short in the 1986 EuroLeague championship game against Cibona Zagreb and Drazen Petrovic. Following independence for Lithuania in 1990, Zalgiris gave its basketball-loving fans plenty to cheer about. While the club won the first nine Lithuanian League championships, thus creating a dynasty, it also lifted its first-ever European trophy, the Saporta Cup in 1998, by downing Adecco Milano in the title game behind 35 points from Saulius Stombergas. A year later, Zalgiris shocked the continent by winning the 1999 EuroLeague title. With a fun-to-watch offensive style, the cast of stars including Tyus Edney, Stombergas, Anthony Bowie, Eurelijus Zukauskas and Jiri Zidek was led by Coach Jonas Kazlauskas to Europe's top. Zalgiris has competed in the EuroLeague every year since, but the closest it came to glory again was in 2004 – Sabonis’s retirement season – when it lost a do-or-die Top 16 finale in overtime in epic fashion against eventual champ Maccabi Tel Aviv. The club also continued its dominance at home by winning 12 Lithuanian League titles this century. Zalgiris also lifted the Baltic League crown in that competition’s inaugural 2005 season and won triple crowns – Baltic League, Lithuanian League and Lithuanian Cup – in 2008, 2011 and 2012. Last season, Zalgiris continued reigning at home with another league and cup double, while in the EuroLeague, Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius inspired his charges to play spirited basketball, which saw it flirt with a playoff berth and eventually finish in 10th place. Such a showing made sure that fans in Kaunas have much to be optimistic about in 2017-18 and beyond.

Trophy Case