Jonas Kazlauskas

Jonas Kazlauskas
	Jonas Kazlauskas with Lithuania men's national basketball team
Personal information
Born	21 November 1954 (age 69); Panevėžys, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Lithuanian
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	1976: undrafted
Playing career	1973–1985
Position	Shooting guard
Coaching career	1994–present
Career history
As player:
1973–1985	Statyba Vilnius
As coach:
1994–2000	Žalgiris Kaunas
2001–2004	Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2004–2006	Olympiacos Piraeus
2011–2012	CSKA Moscow
2013–2014; 2017–2018	Guangdong Southern Tigers
Career highlights and awards
	As head coach: 6× LKL champion (1995–1999, 2002); FIBA EuroCup winner (1998); EuroLeague champion (1999); 2× NEBL champion (1999, 2002); 2× LKL Coach of the Year (2002, 2003); 2× PBL champion (2011, 2012); PBL Coach of the Year (2012); CBA champion (2013);
Men's basketball
Representing Lithuania
Summer Olympic Games
EuroBasket
Representing China
FIBA Asia Cup
Representing Greece
EuroBasket

Last updated December 30, 2023

Jonas Kazlauskas (born 21 November 1954) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Playing career

Kazlauskas played for Statyba Vilnius from 1973 to 1985. He won a bronze medal in the former USSR Supreme League in 1979.

Coaching career

Clubs

Kazlauskas is considered to be one of the best coaches from Europe. In the past, he has coached Lithuania's top two pro club basketball teams, Žalgiris Kaunas (1994–2000) and Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (2001–2004). In October 2004, he became the head coach of Olympiacos Piraeus,^[1] and later moved to CSKA Moscow during the 2010–11 season.^[2]

Kazlauskas took a position with the Guangdong Southern Tigers for the latter stage of the 2012–13 Chinese Basketball Association season, serving as "executive coach" to fill the role of experienced mentor for newly appointed head coach Du Feng,^[3]^[4]^[5] and helping guide the team to their record-tying eighth title in the 2013 CBA Finals. He retained his role with Guangdong for the 2013–14 CBA season but the squad lost in the semi-finals of the 2014 CBA Playoffs.

Kazlauskas returned to the Southern Tigers as head coach for the 2017–18 CBA season, while Du was serving as head coach with the "China Blue" version of the country's national team, and led a rebuilding side to third place with 28 wins in 38 regular season games before the youthful squad were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2018 CBA Playoffs. He handed the head coaching job back to Du after the season.

National teams

In 1997, Kazlauskas became the head coach of the Lithuanian national team with whom he won bronze medals at 2000 Summer Olympics and held that position until the end of EuroBasket 2001. In 2004, he joined the China national team as the assistant coach to Del Harris, and then served as the head coach from 2005 to 2008, winning the 2005 Asian championship.

From 2009 to 2010, Kazlauskas served as the head coach of the Greek national team and guided them to bronze medals at EuroBasket 2009. In 2012, he returned to Lithuanian national team and guided them to consecutive silver medals at 2013 and 2015 EuroBasket tournaments. In 2016, Kazlauskas left the team for the second time after his 4-year contract expired after the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[6]

Coaching awards and achievements

Club

6× LKL champion: 1995–1999, 2002
Baltic Cup winner: 1998
FIBA EuroCup champion: 1998
Euroleague champion: 1999
2× NEBL champion: 1999, 2002
2× PBL champion: 2011, 2012
CBA champion: 2013
2× LKL Coach of the Year: 2002, 2013^[7]
PBL Coach of the Year: 2012

National team

Lithuanian national team:
- Summer Olympic Games Bronze: 2000
- 2× EuroBasket Silver: 2013, 2015
China national team:
- FIBA Asia Cup Gold: 2005
- Asian Games Gold: 2006
Greek national team:
- EuroBasket Bronze: 2009

Personal life

Kazlauskas and his wife have two daughters. He likes tennis, crosswords and computer games.^[8]

Coaching record

Legend
G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss %

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the team played during the season. He also coached in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Result
Žalgiris
Žalgiris	1998–99	22	18	4	.818	Won EuroLeague Championship
Žalgiris	1999-00	16	4	12	.250	Eliminated in qualification round
Olympiacos	2004–05	14	4	10	.286	Eliminated in regular season
Olympiacos	2005–06	23	12	11	.522	Eliminated in quarterfinals
CSKA	2011–12	22	19	3	.864	Lost in the final game
Career		97	57	40	.588

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References

↑ "Greece: Kazlauskas Grabs Olympiacos Reins". www.fibaeurope.com. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
↑ "CSKA lands Kazlauskas as coach through 2013". Euroleague.net. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
↑ Pastuszek, Jon (6 January 2013). "Guangdong coach Li Chunjiang resigns, Jonas Kazlauskas joins staff • NiuBBall.com". NiuBBall.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
↑ "独家！尤纳斯率团队签约宏远另将担任全运会主帅". baijia.baidu.com (in Chinese). 24 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
↑ "Parašas padėtas: Jonas Kazlauskas pradeda darbą Kinijos ekipoje". lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). 31 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Sarapas, Jaunius (27 September 2016). "J. Kazlausko perkalbėti nepavyko: Lietuvos rinktinė turės naują trenerį". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 31 May 2017.
↑ Lietuvos metų treneris Jonas Kazlauskas apie 2013-uosius: „Sunki pradžia – laiminga pabaiga“ (in Lithuanian)
↑ Jonas Kazlauskas Krepsinis.net profile

External links

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[1] "Greece: Kazlauskas Grabs Olympiacos Reins". www.fibaeurope.com. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[2] "CSKA lands Kazlauskas as coach through 2013". Euroleague.net. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[3] Pastuszek, Jon (6 January 2013). "Guangdong coach Li Chunjiang resigns, Jonas Kazlauskas joins staff • NiuBBall.com". NiuBBall.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[4] "独家！尤纳斯率团队签约宏远另将担任全运会主帅". baijia.baidu.com (in Chinese). 24 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[5] "Parašas padėtas: Jonas Kazlauskas pradeda darbą Kinijos ekipoje". lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). 31 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.

[6] Sarapas, Jaunius (27 September 2016). "J. Kazlausko perkalbėti nepavyko: Lietuvos rinktinė turės naują trenerį". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 31 May 2017.

[7] Lietuvos metų treneris Jonas Kazlauskas apie 2013-uosius: „Sunki pradžia – laiminga pabaiga“ (in Lithuanian)

[8] Jonas Kazlauskas Krepsinis.net profile

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