Mindaugas Lukauskis locally also known as the Legend or the Iron man, (born 19 May 1979) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Milasta Birštonas of the Regional Basketball League (RKL). Lukauskis is a holder of multiple Lithuanian League records.[1]
 Lukauskis with Lietuvos rytas in 2015 | |
| Milasta Birštonas | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| League | RKL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 19 May 1979 Panevėžys, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 198 lb (90 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2001: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1996–present |
| Career history | |
| 1996–2001 | Lietkabelis/Kalnapilis/Sema Panevėžys |
| 2001–2002 | Sakalai |
| 2002–2003 | BC Alita |
| 2003–2009 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
| 2009–2010 | ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne |
| 2010–2011 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg |
| 2011–2012 | Sigma Barcellona |
| 2012 | Valencia Basket |
| 2013 | Tofaş |
| 2013 | Bilbao Basket |
| 2013–2014 | TonyBet Prienai |
| 2014–2016 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
| 2016–2017 | Lietkabelis Panevėžys |
| 2017–2018 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
| 2018–2020 | Skycop/CBet Prienai |
| 2020–2021 | BC Šiauliai |
| 2021–2022 | Dzūkija Alytus |
| 2022–2023 | BC Wolves |
| 2023–2024 | Jurbarkas-Karys |
| 2024-present | Milasta Birštonas |
| Career highlights and awards | |
LKL records
| |
Professional career
editLukauskis began his basketball career in the Panevežys youth basketball clubs, being the leader there. He got attention from the LKL, and in 2001, he joined Sakalai. In 2002, he signed a one-year contract with Alytus, and he was the top scorer on the team. In 2003, he joined Lithuanian basketball giant Lietuvos Rytas. In 2006, Lukauskis improved his game and alongside Tomas Delininkaitis he gave Rytas a strong impact off the bench. In the 2007 season, he became a starting player.
In the EuroCup Final 8 on 4 April 2009, Lukauskis made a decisive, game-winning, 10 meters distance three-pointer and that allowed him to become the only player to participate in the EuroCup Final three times in total. He then went on to become the only two-time EuroCup champion. In July 2009, he joined the French League club ASVEL.[2][3] In September 2010 he signed with the German EuroCup-Team Baskets Oldenburg.[4]
After spending a season with Italy's Barcellona Sigma of Legadue, in September 2012 Lukauskis moved to Valencia Basket of the Liga ACB, replacing the injured Thomas Kelati.[5]
On 7 August 2016, Lukauskis signed with his hometown club Lietkabelis Panevėžys.[6]
On 19 July 2017, he returned to Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for his ninth season as the club member.[7] During the 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė, Lukauskis being 38 years old surprisingly became the LKL Three-point Shootout champion.[8] On 25 August 2018, Lukauskis signed with BC Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[9]
On 15 October 2020, Lukauskis signed with BC Šiauliai until the end of the season.[10]
On 19 August 2021, Lukauskis signed with Dzūkija Alytus.[11] On 19 September 2021, at 42 years and 123 days of age, Lukauskis became the oldest player to appear in a game in the Lithuanian Basketball League history, surpassing the previous record set by Algimantas Pavilonis in 1996.[12] On 6 December 2021, Lukauskis scored a career-high 33 points in a game against Nevėžis Kėdainiai, breaking his previous scoring record set in 2001.[13] He finished the season averaging 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 34 LKL games played.
On 9 August 2022, Lukauskis signed with BC Wolves of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[14] On 25 July 2023, he parted ways with the club.
National team career
editLukauskis was a member of the senior Lithuanian national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On 16 August 2008, when Lithuania played against Croatia in the Olympics, Lukauskis helped Lithuania to win the game, by scoring 20 points.
Career statistics
edit| 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 |
EuroLeague
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Lietuvos Rytas | 19 | 0 | 14.4 | .380 | .361 | .652 | 3.2 | .8 | .8 | .1 | 4.3 | 5.1 |
| 2007–08 | 20 | 18 | 23.3 | .423 | .365 | .744 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 | .1 | 8.4 | 8.2 | |
| 2009–10 | ASVEL | 10 | 10 | 30.1 | .469 | .273 | .800 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 2.3 | .3 | 8.1 | 11.1 |
| Career | 49 | 28 | 21.5 | .423 | .343 | .728 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .1 | 6.8 | 7.6 | |
Awards and achievements
edit- Baltic League President's Cup Winner: 2008
- 2× LKF Cup Winner: 2009, 2014
- 2× ULEB Cup (EuroCup) Champion: 2005, 2009
- 3× Baltic League Champion: 2006, 2007, 2009
- 2× LKL League Champion: 2006, 2009
- Match des champions Winner: 2009
- Semaine de As Cup Winner: 2010
References
edit- ^ Statistics - LKL.LT
- ^ "ASVEL signs Mindaugas Lukauskis". Talkbasket.net/. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009.
- ^ "ASVEL inks Eurocup champion Lukauskis". Sportando.net. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ "EWE Baskets Oldenburg signs Lukauskis" (in German). EWE Baskets Oldenburg. 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ "Valencia Basket llega a un acuerdo con Mindaugas Lukauskis" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2012.
- ^ "M.Lukauskis rungtyniaus "Lietkabelyje"". www.kklietkabelis.lt. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Pokyčiais patenkintas M. Lukauskis sugrįžo į "Lietuvos ryto" gretas". Krepsinis.lt. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "Švilpimas veterano netrikdė: M.Lukauskis laimėjo LKL Snaiperio konkursą". 15min.lt. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Mindaugas Lukauskis sukirto rankomis su Prienų "Skycop"". BC Prienai – Skycop (in Lithuanian). 25 August 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ ""Šiaulių" komandą papildė M. Lukauskis". LKL.lt (in Lithuanian). 15 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Nesustabdomas: Lukauskis savo 26-ąjį sezoną praleis Alytuje". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "M. Lukauskis taps visų laikų vyriausiu "Betsafe-LKL" žaidėju". LKL.lt (in Lithuanian). 19 September 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Geležinis žmogus: 42-ejų Mindaugas Lukauskis pagerino karjeros rezultatyvumo rekordą". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 12 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Oficialu: "Wolves" pasikvietė Lukauskį". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 9 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.