Rimas Kurtinaitis

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Rimas Kurtinaitis
Rimas Kurtinaitis 2011 BC Khimki.JPG
Kurtinaitis as the head coach of Khimki, 2011
Sabah BC
PositionHead coach
League Azerbaijan Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1960-05-15) 15 May 1960 (age 65)
Kaunas, Lithuania
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 1982: undrafted
Playing career1981–2006
Position Shooting guard
Number10, 12
Coaching career2002–present
Career history
As a player:
1981–1983 CSKA Moscow
1983–1989 Žalgiris Kaunas
1989–1992 BBV Hagen
1992Žalgiris Kaunas
1992 Peñas Huesca
1993 Townsville Suns
1993–1995 Real Madrid
1995–1996Žalgiris Kaunas
1996–1997 Élan Chalon
1997–1998 Atletas Kaunas
1998–1999 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2001–2002 Kyiv
2002–2006 Gala Baku [a]
As a coach:
2002–2006Gala Baku [a]
2006 Ural Great
2007 Sakalai Vilnius
2007–2008 Śląsk Wrocław
2008 Prokom Trefl Sopot (assistant)
2008–2010Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2010–2011 VEF Rīga
2011–2016 Khimki
2016 Pallacanestro Cantù
2017–2018Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2019–2021Khimki
2022–2023 Wolves
2024–present Sabah
Career highlights
As a player:

As a head coach:

Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1988 Seoul
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg Spain 1986
EuroBasket
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1985 West Germany
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1989 Yugoslavia
Friendship Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1984 Moscow
Representing Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Barcelona
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1996 Atlanta
EuroBasket
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1995 Greece
Head coach for Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
FIBA Europe U20 Championship
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2005 Russia under-20
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Czech Republic under-20

Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Lithuania men's national team and Sabah of the Azerbaijan Basketball League (ABL). As a player, he was a member of the senior Soviet Union and Lithuania national teams, and won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. During his playing career, at a height of 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall, he played at the shooting guard position. He is the only non-NBA player to ever participate at the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, doing so in 1989, where he scored 9 points.

Contents

Club playing career

Kurtinaitis' former club teams as a player, include Žalgiris Kaunas, CSKA Moscow, and Real Madrid. He was the only European player to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, without ever having played in the NBA, by participating in the event in 1989. Kurtinaitis was also the first European player to play as an import, in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), while playing for the Townsville Suns, in the 1993 NBL season.

During his professional club career, Kurtinaitis won a total of five USSR Premier League championships, in the years 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1987. He also won the USSR Cup title in 1982. Kurtinaitis was also the Finals Top Scorer of the European-wide 2nd-tier level competition, the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup's 1984–85 season. Kurtinaitis won the championship of the 1986 edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Kurtinaitis was the German BBL league's Top Scorer of the 1989–90 season, and at the German All-Star Game, he won the Three-point Contest in 1991. In addition to that, Kurtinaitis won the Spanish ACB league's championship, during the ACB 1993–94 season. He was the Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP in 1996. After winning the Lithuanian LKL league's championship in 1996, he was named the Finals MVP of the Lithuanian LKL league in 1996. Kurtinaitis was also honored as one of the best players in FIBA Europe's pro league club competitions, when he was chosen as a member of the FIBA European Selection Team in 1996.

National team playing career

Kurtinaitis (first from the left), sitting alongside teammate Arvydas Sabonis, and Team Doctor Vasily Avramenko, after winning the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament, with the Soviet Union men's national team. Avramenko235235.jpg
Kurtinaitis (first from the left), sitting alongside teammate Arvydas Sabonis, and Team Doctor Vasily Avramenko, after winning the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament, with the Soviet Union men's national team.

Soviet Union junior national team

Kurtinaitis was a member of the Soviet Union's junior national teams. With the Soviet Union's Under-19 junior national team, Kurtinaitis competed at the 1979 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. The Soviet team came in 5th place at the tournament. During the tournament, Kurtinaitis averaged 2.7 points per game, in a total of 9 games played.

Soviet Union senior national team

Kurtinaitis was also a member of the senior men's Soviet Union national team. With the Soviet Union senior national teams, Kurtinaitis won the gold medal at the 1984 Friendship Games, the gold medal at the 1985 FIBA EuroBasket, the silver medal at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games, and the bronze medal at the 1989 FIBA EuroBasket. Kurtinaitis also represented the Soviet Union at the 1984 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 1988 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Lithuanian senior national team

Due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent re-establishment of Lithuania, Kurtinaitis became a member of the senior men's Lithuanian national team. With Lithuania, he won the bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games, the silver medal at the 1995 FIBA EuroBasket, and the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. Kurtinaitis also represented Lithuania at the 1992 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 1995 FIBA EuroBasket, and the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games.

Club coaching career

In 1997, Kurtinaitis was named to the Lithuanian Ministry of Sport. From 2002 to 2006, he was a player for four seasons (until the age of 46!), [1] with the Azerbaijani League club Gala Baku, where he also worked as a player-coach. [2] Kurtinaitis became the head coach of the Lithuanian club Sakalai, during the mid-2000s.

In December 2007, he became the head coach of the Polish PLK league club Śląsk Wrocław. [3] In 2008, he became the head coach of the Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas, with whom, he won the European-wide 2nd-tier level competition EuroCup's 2008–09 season's championship title. After winning the championship at the Final-Eight Tournament, in Turin (Torino), Italy, in a game against Khimki Moscow Region, by a final score of 80–74.

In 2012, Kurtinaitis won the EuroCup's championship once again, that time with the Russian club Khimki, after claiming the title of the EuroCup 2011–12 season. On 21 June 2012, Kurtinaitis was named "The Best EuroCup Coach of All-Time". [4] On 15 March 2016, Khimki parted ways with Kurtinaitis. [5] On 2 August 2016, Kurtinaitis become the head coach of Cantù, of the Italian LBA league. [6] However, on 30 November 2016, he was fired from the team. [7] [8]

Kurtinaitis agreed to return to Lietuvos rytas on 10 February 2017, following the resignation of Tomas Pačėsas, from the club's head coaching position. [9] That tenure with Rytas was not as successful as his previous one was – as Rytas only finished in 3rd place in the Lithuanian LKL league in the 2016–17 season, after the playoffs stage was completed, which was considered a failure and a fiasco for the team. In the 2017–18 season, the team played much better, as it reached the EuroCup 2017–18 season's Top 16 Phase, as well as the KMT Finals and the 2017–18 Lithuanian League season's LKL Finals. However, the team lost both finals to Žalgiris Kaunas. In what stirred a lot of controversy, it was announced during the semifinals of the LKL, that Kurtinaitis would be replaced by Dainius Adomaitis in the following season, and in June, Kurtinaitis left the team.

On 21 January 2019, Kurtinaitis returned to Khimki, in a surprising decision. Two years later, on 15 January 2021, he was dismissed from the position of Khimki head coach, because of the team's unsatisfactory results. [10] On 26 January 2024, Kurtinaitis became the head coach of Sabah of the Azerbaijan Basketball League. [11]

As of 2025, Kurtinaitis is the only head coach to have won the season championship of the European-wide secondary level competition, the EuroCup, on three separate occasions.

National team coaching career

Azerbaijani national team

In the years 2002 to 2006, Kurtinaitis was the head coach of the senior men's Azerbaijani national team.

Lithuanian national team

On 1 October 2024, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation announced Kurtinaitis as the new head coach of the senior men's Lithuanian national team. [12] [13]

Awards and achievements

As a player:

Pro clubs

Soviet senior national team

Lithuanian senior national team

As a head coach

Coaching record

Legend
GGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–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

TeamYearGWLWL%Result
Lietuvos rytas 2009–10 1046.400Eliminated in group stage
Khimki 2012–13 241311.542Eliminated in TOP 16 stage
Khimki 2015–16 201010.500Fired
Khimki 2018–19 1129.182Eliminated in regular season
Khimki 2019–20 281315.464Season stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Khimki 2020–21 20218.100Fired
Career1134469.389

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2012 The Other Dream Team HimselfDocumentary about the Lithuania men's national basketball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. [14]
2014Arvydas Sabonis. 11HimselfDocumentary about Arvydas Sabonis, a teammate of Kurtinaitis in multiple teams. [15]
2023Bilietas (The Ticket)HimselfDocumentary about the basketball club Žalgiris Kaunas in 1979–1989. [16]

Notes

  1. 1 2 As a player-coach

References

  1. Rimas Kurtinaitis Archived 2015-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. The coach: Rimas Kurtinaitis
  3. "EUROBASKET – Lithuanian basketball". Eurobasket.net. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  4. Eurocup Top 10 – Coaches
  5. "BC Khimki, Kurtinaitis part ways". BC Khimki. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. "RIMAS KURTINAITIS E' IL NUOVO ALLENATORE DELLA PALLACANESTRO CANTU'". Pallacanestro Cantù (in Italian). 2 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. "INTERVISTA A DMITRY GERASIMENKO". Pallacanestro Cantù (in Italian). 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  8. "Basket, Cantù esonera Kurtinaitis Squadra al vice, poi Banchi o Recalcati?". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  9. ""Lietuvos ryte" Tomą Pačėsą keičia Rimas Kurtinaitis". Lietuvos Rytas (in Lithuanian). 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. "Official statement: Khimki and Rimas Kurtinaitis part ways". BC Khimki. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. "Kurtinaitis treniruos Azerbaidžano čempionus". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 26 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  12. "Rimas Kurtinaitis takes over the national team of Lithuania". Eurohoops. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. "Rimas Kurtinaitis named as new Lithuanian national team head coach". Basketnews.com. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  14. "The Other Dream Team". Netflix . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  15. "Arvydas Sabonis. 11". LRT Epika (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  16. "Bilietas". Go3 (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 19 September 2025.