Nationality Lithuanian Pro career 1997–2010 Height 1.93 m Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Number 6, 7 Weight 98 kg | Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg) Name Arvydas Macijauskas Spouse Viktorija Buder (m. 2010) NBA draft 2002 / Undrafted Role Basketball player | |
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Arvydas macijauskas the killer is back
Arvydas Macijauskas (born January 19, 1980) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in), he played at the shooting guard position. He was one of the greatest Lithuanian players of the 2000s, winning many individual awards, club and national team trophies.
Contents
- Arvydas macijauskas the killer is back
- Arvydas macijauskas hornets
- Early years
- Playing career
- National team career
- Coaching career
- Personal life
- Career statistics
- References
Starting his professional career in Neptūnas, he later played for some top EuroLeague teams, such as Lietuvos rytas, Tau Ceramica and Olympiacos, and even played with New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for one season in the NBA. He also represented the Lithuanian national basketball team.
He announced a retirement from the professional basketball back in 2010, two years after his last club, Olympiacos, released him following a prolonged judicial litigation.
Arvydas macijauskas hornets
Early years
Early in his career, Macijauskas was a member of the Neptūnas junior team.
Playing career
Macijauskas made his pro debut in 1996 with Neptūnas. He only played 3 games in his rookie season and spent most of the season with the Klaipėda University-Irvinga team. He spent three seasons with the Neptūnas and averaged 12.7 points on 53 percent shooting.
He played the next four seasons with Lietuvos rytas and led them to two Lithuanian league titles in 2000 and 2002 and a Northern European League title in 2003. He was named the Lithuanian league MVP in 2002 and 2003. He averaged 15.3 points on 61% shooting in 143 games with the Rytas.
Macijauskas joined the Tau Ceramica for the next two seasons and helped them win a Spanish Cup in 2004. On December 17, 2003, he scored a career-high 40 points against Asvel Lyon. The team reached the EuroLeague Finals in 2005, but lost to Maccabi, which was also led by a Lithuanian player, and EuroLeague Final Four MVP, Šarūnas Jasikevičius. Macijauskas was selected to the All-EuroLeague First Team. He played in 42 EuroLeague games over 2 seasons with TAU, and averaged 18.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Macijauskas signed with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in 2005. He was rarely used in his only season in the NBA, totaling 135 minutes and 44 points in 19 games. He was bought out by the Hornets after the season. After returning to Europe, he criticized the Hornets and the NBA through the press. When asked if he put the last season behind him, Macijauskas responded: "I want to forget that year. Everything went wrong. A really bad coach, a bad franchise. At the end of the season, I didn't even think of returning to New Orleans next season. From the third game on, I was already sentenced to zero minutes for the rest of the year. The NBA is not a fun experience. Teams are (not) teams. There's no true commitment between the teammates."
On July 20, 2006, Macijauskas signed with the Olympiacos. The deal was worth €9 million euros net income over four years. However, he suffered a devastating Achilles' tendon injury in September, and missed the rest of the regular season.
Macijauskas was healthy for the next season, and was named the EuroLeague MVP of the Month for November 2007, after shooting a staggering 72.5% overall from the field (84.6% on 2 point field goals, and 50% on 3 point field goals). However, his team came up short again. Olympiacos lost to eventual champion CSKA Moscow in the quarter-finals. Ironically, that team was also led by a Lithuanian player, Ramūnas Šiškauskas.
Later that year, Olympiacos sued Macijauskas for violating his contract terms (he injured his ankle during a holiday). The club wanted to cancel the contract, without paying anymore compensation. However, a court made a decision in Macijauskas' favor. But Olympiacos appealed it, and eventually won the case in November 2009. He played in 14 EuroLeague games in 2 seasons with the Olympiacos, and averaged 13.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
In June 2010, he announced his retirement from his basketball playing career, because of health reasons.
National team career
Macijauskas was a member of the Lithuanian Under-18 and Under-20 junior national teams. He played at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and at the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
Macijauskas led the senior Lithuania national team in scoring, at the EuroBasket 2003, with an average of 15.8 points per game. The Lithuanians prevailed to win the gold medals at the tournament. However, his teammate, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, was named the tournament's MVP.
He played at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, where the Lithuanians finished in fourth place. He averaged 15.9 points, on 54% shooting, and scored a tournament-high 32 points against China, in the quarterfinals.
Macijauskas also played at the 2006 World Championship, where the Lithuanian team finished in seventh place. He was a candidate for the Lithuanian team for EuroBasket 2009 in Poland, but at the last minute, he declared that he would not participate in the tournament.
Coaching career
On June 19, 2010, he became the assistant coach of the Lithuanian club Perlas Vilnius, but in August it was announced that he had left Perlas, due to personal reasons.
Personal life
Arvydas Macijauskas married Viktorija Buder on July 24, 2010.
Career statistics
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.