Martynas Pocius

Early life and high school

Martynas Pocius was born in Vilnius, Lithuania to Gintaras, a basketball coach, and Jurate, a physical education teacher.

At age 13, he suffered a serious left hand injury, partially cutting three fingers with grinder while being in a school, of which two were re-attached, while one had to be partially amputated.

Pocius attended the prestigious Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he played on the basketball team in his last two years, leading the team to back-to-back New England Prep School Class C titles. In his first title run, during the 2003–04 season, Pocius averaged 18 points and 4,5 rebounds, and led the team to a 17–7 record. In the 2004–05 season, Pocius averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and led the team to a 19–10 record.

As a senior, he was ranked 40th overall and 12th among shooting guards by Rivals.com and rated the 55th-top prospect (16th among shooting guards) by Scout.com. Pocius was also named to the World Select team for the 2005 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored a game high 20 points in a 98–106 loss to the USA.

College career

After graduating from high school, Pocius committed to Duke University, where he played on the university's basketball team, coached by Mike Krzyzewski.

As a freshman, Pocius appeared in 28 games, averaging 1.5 points and 0.3 rebounds in 6.1 minutes. In his sophomore year, Pocius increased his stats, averaging 1.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes in 27 games. Throughout the season he was battling an ankle injury, for which he missed four games. Pocius underwent a season-ending surgery on his left ankle on January 8 during his junior year. Due to the surgery he only played 4 games in which he averaged 4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8 minutes. In his final season at Duke, Pocius played 22 games, averaging 1.5 points.

He graduated from Duke in 2009 with a degree in international comparative studies.

Žalgiris Kaunas (2009–2011)

After graduating from Duke, Pocius chose to continue his basketball career in Europe. He went back to his home country, Lithuania, and signed a multi-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas.

In his debut season, Pocius averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16 games in the Euroleague. Although Žalgiris did not pass the Top 16 round, the team did perform better in their national and regional championships. Pocius led the team to the Baltic Basketball League (BBL) title, averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He also led the team to second place in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), after losing the final's best-of-seven series 3–4. Pocius averaged 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the season. Pocius also helped Žalgiris win second place in the Lithuanian Cup tournament and third place in the VTB United League.

During his second season with the team, Pocius led Žalgiris to the Top 16 once more, but the team did move to the next round. Pocius averaged 15.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 games during his second Euroleague season, improving every individual stat. Though, Žalgiris went on to win the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) Cup, the BBL title, and the LKL championship. Pocius missed the LKL Finals because of a season-ending injury. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout the season.

Real Madrid (2011–2013)

On July 27, 2011 it was officially announced that Pocius signed a contract with Real Madrid. Despite solid play in the first season with Real, Pocius game declined in the second season, due to numerous injuries. He won the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto in 2012, and the Liga ACB in 2013. Pocius left Real in July 2013.

Žalgiris Kaunas (2013–2014)

Pocius returned to Žalgiris in August, signing a one-year deal. Pocius played solidly in the Euroleague, helping Žalgiris reach the Top16 stage, though suffered through injuries in the Top16. Pocius finished the Euroleague season averaging 10,8 points per game and helped Žalgiris win the LKL championship, beating Lietuvos Rytas in the semifinals, and Neptūnas in the finals. Pocius left Žalgiris in July.

Galatasaray (2014–2015)

On August 20, 2014, Pocius officially signed a 1+1 contract with the Turkish team Galatasaray Liv Hospital. He averaged 6,2 points in the Euroleague competition.

Žalgiris Kaunas (2015–2017)

On July 29, 2015, Pocius returned to Žalgiris Kaunas, signing a 1+1 contract. After a difficult season where Pocius struggled with injuries and playing, and helping Žalgiris to another LKL championship, he was loaned to CB Murcia.

On June 16, 2017, Pocius announced his retirement from professional basketball being just 31 years old due to injuries and pain he suffered while exercising.

Post-playing career

Shortly after retiring, in August, 2017, Pocius joined the Denver Nuggets as a Basketball Operations Associate.

National team career

Pocius has played for Lithuania on several occasions. He played in the 2004 European U-18 Championship in Spain, where he showed himself as a team leader, averaging 26 points, 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Pocius also represented Lithuania at the 2006 U-20 Championship in Turkey, where he led the team to a seventh-place finish, averaging 20 points per game. After his senior year at Duke, Pocius represented Lithuania at the 2009 Summer Universiade in Belgrade, Serbia, where he led the team to a fifth-place finish, averaging 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

In 2010, Pocius made his debut on the Lithuanian men's national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, where he surprisingly became one of the leaders in the team and helped lead Lithuania to the bronze medals.

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.