| No. 20 Gdynia Asseco Prokom | |
|---|---|
| Power Forward / Center | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | September 20, 1990 |
| Place of birth | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 222 lb (101 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall |
| Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Pro career | 2007–present |
| Career history | |
| 2007–2008 | Kaunas Žalgiris |
| 2008–2009 | Kaunas Aisčiai |
| 2009–2011 | Treviso Benetton |
| 2011–present | Gdynia Asseco Prokom |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Donatas Motiejūnas (born September 20, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He plays the power forward and center positions. He is nicknamed "D-Mo" by Houston Rockets fans and "Doncė" (pronounced as "Don-tzer") by Lithuanian fans. Motiejūnas was selected twentieth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.[1]
Motiejūnas began his career playing with the youth team Arvydas Sabonis School of Kaunas.[2] He made his professional debut with the Žalgiris Kaunas in a Baltic League game against the ASK Riga. He scored 15 points in 22 minutes.[3]
Contents |
Motiejūnas began his career playing with the youth team Arvydas Sabonis School of Kaunas.[4] He made his professional debut with the Žalgiris Kaunas in a Baltic League game against the ASK Riga. He scored 15 points in 22 minutes.[5]
Motiejūnas helped Žalgiris Kaunas win a Baltic Championship, a Lithuanian Championship and a Lithuanian Cup. He averaged 5.6 points in 10.1 minutes per game in the Baltic League.[6]
He signed with the Aisčiai-Atletas in 2008. With Aisčiai-Atletas, he averaged 19.9 points and 7.0 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game and he scored a season-high 29 points in a Lithuanian League game against Nevėžis on March 22, 2009.[7]
He moved to the Italian League club Benetton Treviso in August 2009.[8] There, he got off to a great start, scoring 18 and 21 points in two friendly matches against other European clubs. In 2011, Motiejūnas won the Eurocup Rising Star award after helping his team Treviso reach the Eurocup 2010-11 Final Four, averaging 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 4.4 fouls drawn per game.[9]
In September 2011 he signed a contract with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in Poland for one season.[10] On December 7, 2011 he grabbed career high 21 rebounds (18 defensive) against Union Olimpija and improved previous Euroleague record (since the 2000-01 season) for defensive rebounds.[11]
He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 20th overall pick, but was traded in a package with Jonny Flynn to the Houston Rockets for Brad Miller and Nikola Mirotic (the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft). Donatas Motiejūnas will wear Houston Rockets jersey with number 20. Because of his hard to say name and last name for foreigners, Donatas Motiejūnas was called D-Mo by Kevin McHale at the first Houston Rockets press conference.
Motiejūnas has a large tattoo on his chest of an eagle clutching a basketball that he describes as, "I really like the attitudes of eagles. They never give up. When they grab a fish or something else, they never let it go." [12] [13]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Lithuania | ||
| Men's Basketball | ||
| FIBA European U-18 Championship | ||
| Silver | 2008 Greece | National Team |
| FIBA European U-20 Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2009 Greece | National Team |
Motiejūnas was a part of the Lithuanian Under-16, Under-18, and Under-20 junior national teams. With Lithuania's junior national teams, he played at the: 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, both the 2007 and 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
He led Lithuania's junior national team to the silver medal at the 2008 Under-18 Championship. Despite losing to Greece's junior national team in the gold medal game, he was named the MVP of the tournament, after averaging 18.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.[14] At the 2009 Under-20 Championship, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||