Sportin Latvia includes basketball, football, ice hockey, athletics (track), rugby, tennis, cycling, and others. Ice hockey is the most popular of the Latvian sports and is closely followed by basketball. Some of Latvia's most notable athletes include hockey player Sandis Ozoliņš, football player Māris Verpakovskis, Olympic javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, two-time Olympic BMX champion Maris Strombergs, and basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis. The national sport of Latvia is ice hockey.
In basketball, there are five players on court per team, each assigned to positions. Historically, these players have been assigned to positions defined by the role they play on the court, from a strategic point of view. The three main positions are guard, forward, and center, with the standard team featuring two guards, two forwards, and a center. Over time, as more specialized roles developed, each of the guards and forwards came to be differentiated, and today each of the five positions is known by a unique name and number: point guard (PG) or 1, the shooting guard (SG) or 2, the small forward (SF) or 3, the power forward (PF) or 4, and the center (C) or 5 "post position".
Valdis Valters is a retired Latvian professional basketball player. He played at the point guard position for the senior USSR national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players to have played the game in Europe in the 1980s. Considering his lengthy work and deep connection to the sport, Valters has been one of the most influential people in Latvian basketball history. He became a FIBA Hall of Fame player in 2017.
The Latvia men's national basketball team represents Latvia in international basketball. They are organized and run by the Latvian Basketball Association. Latvia has reached the European Basketball Championship 15 times, with their ultimate success occurring during the inter-war period, when they became the first team to win the tournament in 1935. Four years later, they had another impressive run to come away with the silver in 1939. Although after 1939, Latvia were forced to suspend their national team operations, due to the Occupation of the Baltic states during World War II. Latvia regained independence in 1991, with their national team taking part in international competition once again a year later.
The Latvian Hockey Higher League, also known as the Optibet Hockey League since 2017 due to sponsorship by Optibet, is the top tier league of ice hockey in Latvia. The league is competed by nine teams from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Previously it was also known as the Latvian Open Hockey Championships and the Samsung Premier League from 2006 to 2008. The league was established in 1931.
Sean Tyree Colson is an American former professional basketball player. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At a height of 6'0" tall, he played at the point guard position.
VEF Rīga is a Latvian professional basketball team that is based in Riga, Latvia. VEF Rīga is a ten-time Latvian Basketball League champion.
The 2001–02 NBA season was the 34th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns acquired All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury from the New Jersey Nets, and re-signed former All-Star Suns guard and three-point specialist Dan Majerle, who was a member of the team when they appeared in the 1993 NBA Finals. Early into the season, the team acquired Bo Outlaw from the Orlando Magic. The Suns got off to a 18–13 start, but soon began to slip under .500 as the season progressed as head coach Scott Skiles struggled to a 25–26 record, and was replaced by former Suns guard Frank Johnson. The Suns posted a six-game losing streak in March and lost eight of their final eleven games, finishing the regular season at 36–46, and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1988. All home games were played at America West Arena.
Jānis Strēlnieks is a Latvian professional basketball player who last played for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He also represents the senior Latvia national team. Standing at 1.91 m tall, he mainly plays at the shooting guard position.
Igors Miglinieks is a retired Soviet and Latvian professional basketball player and coach. He played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.
Kristers Gudļevskis is a Latvian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Fischtown Pinguins of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Gudļevskis was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
The LSBL Championships is an annual tournament for Latvian women's basketball teams in the Latvian Basketball League (LBL). The tournament has been held since 1992.
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 28th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in the four Latvian cities of Ogre, Grobiņa, Liepāja and Riga, from 20 to 30 August 2014. Spain were the defending champions.
Aigars Šķēle is a Latvian professional basketball player for Rostock Seawolves of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).
Elijah Marcus Clarance is a Swedish professional basketball player for Atomerőmű SE of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A. Standing at 1.93 m, he plays as shooting guard.
Marina Mabrey is an American professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Mabrey was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2019 WNBA draft. She previously played with the United States women's national under-19 basketball team and the University of Notre Dame.
The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, known as Paf Latvian-Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier men's basketball league in Latvia and Estonia. The competition was introduced in 2018 and is organised by the Estonian Basketball Association and the Latvian Basketball Association.
Kristers is a Latvian masculine given name. People bearing the name Kristers include:
Serbia competed at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification in the Europe group.
The 2022–23 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, known as the Paf Latvian–Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, was the fifth season of the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, the premier basketball competition for men's teams in Latvia and Estonia. Nine Estonian and six Latvian teams were joined by Ukrainian team BC Prometey, who went on to win the league.
