Nationality Lithuanian Number 5 Height 1.93 m Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 1962–1976 Zalgiris Kaunas Weight 85 kg | Listed weight 200 lb (91 kg) Name Modestas Paulauskas Positions Small forward Pro career 1962–1976 Role Basketball Player | |
 | ||
Born 19 March 1945 (age 79)
Kretinga, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union ( 1945-03-19 ) | ||
Modestas Paulauskas (19 March 1945) is a Lithuanian basketball coach and retired basketball player. He is known for being one of the best Lithuanian basketball players of all-time, and for having superior dribbling ability. He was selected as the Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year a record seven times, in 1965–1967, and 1969–1972.
Contents
- Blkl modestas paulauskas
- Club career
- Soviet national team
- Coaching career
- Modestas paulauskas top 5 facts
- References
In 1991, he was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players.
Blkl modestas paulauskas
Club career
Paulauskas spent his whole career with Žalgiris Kaunas despite getting attention from teams based in Western Europe and National Basketball Association (NBA). He could not join them due to political reasons as Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union and people could not freely decide where to make or continue their career. He was also asked to join Žalgiris Kaunas's main rival CSKA Moscow, but he declined.
Soviet national team
Paulaskas was a part of the senior Soviet Union national basketball teams that won the bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, and the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. Paulauskas became the captain of the senior Soviet national team in 1969.
Coaching career
After retiring from playing basketball competitions, Paulauskas worked as a coach of the Soviet Union junior national teams from 1977 to 1989. In the early 1990s, he was the head coach of his native club, Žalgiris Kaunas. After that, he coached basketball in schools, both in Lithuania and in Russia.