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Zydrunas Ilgauskas

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Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuanian: Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; Lithuanian pronunciation: [ʑiːˈdrûːnɐs ɪɫˈɡɐ̂ˑʊ̯skɐs] ⓘ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2010[1] and played for the Miami Heat during the 2010–11 season. He was named to the 1997–98 All-Rookie First Team and is a two-time NBA All-Star.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Ilgauskas with the Cleveland Cavaliers in November 2009
Personal information
Born (1975-06-05) June 5, 1975 (age 49)
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian / American
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
NBA draft1996: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1993–2011
PositionCenter
Number11
Career history
1993–1996Atletas Kaunas
1996–2010Cleveland Cavaliers
2010–2011Miami Heat
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points10,976 (13.0 ppg)
Rebounds6,191 (7.3 rpg)
Blocks1,327 (1.6 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Ilgauskas played in the 2007 NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers. He is known for his accurate jump shot, for his rebounding, and for overcoming difficult injury challenges during his career.[2] Nicknamed Big Z,[3][2] Ilgauskas is the Cavaliers' career leader in blocked shots;[4][5] his jersey no. 11 has been retired by the team. In 2012, Ilgauskas joined the Cavaliers' front office, becoming a special advisor to the organization.[6][7]

Professional career

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Atletas (1993–1996)

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Ilgauskas made his professional debut in his birthplace of Kaunas, with local club Atletas in 1993. He averaged 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in the 1994–95 season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1996–2010)

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Ilgauskas with the Cavaliers in 2007

Ilgauskas was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. On August 1, 1996, he signed a multi-year deal with the Cavaliers. In the earliest parts of his career he suffered through a myriad of foot and ankle injuries. He spent the entire 1996–97 season on the injured list due to a broken bone in his right foot.

He was named the most valuable player of the Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend and selected to the All-Rookie First Team in 1997–98. He signed a contract extension in 1998 that was worth $70.9 million over six years. However, Ilgauskas played in only five games over the next two seasons. On January 26, 2000, he had a surgery on a fractured navicular bone in his left foot.

He regained the starting center spot for the Cavaliers in 2000–01. He was injured again in December 2000 and was out for the season. The injury dealt a blow to the Cavaliers. After winning 15 out of 23 games with Ilgauskas, they finished with a 30–52 record.

He returned in December 2001 and was mostly used as a backup to Chris Mihm for the rest of the season.

Ilgauskas averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2002–03. He was selected as an All-Star, but the Cavaliers finished with the third-worst record in team history (17–65) and landed the number one draft pick.

The Cavaliers drafted high school phenomenon and future NBA MVP LeBron James in 2003. James teamed up with Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden to form the core of the team. Ilgauskas only missed nine games over the next three seasons and was selected as an All-Star again in 2005.

 
Ilgauskas attempting a free throw in 2009

On July 12, 2005, Ilgauskas signed a contract extension with the Cavaliers. The deal was reportedly worth over $55 million over five years.[8][9]

For the next four seasons, Ilgauskas was the starting center for the team, which had turned into a contender. They reached the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In summer 2009, the Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O'Neal.[10] When asked about the trade, Ilgauskas responded: "I was just reading the news. That means I'll probably be coming off the bench."[11][12] On December 2, 2009, Ilgauskas came off the bench in a game against Phoenix Suns to break the team record for career games played, overtaking then-general manager Danny Ferry.[13]

On February 17, 2010, Ilgauskas, along with a 2010 first round pick and the rights to Emir Preldžič, was traded from the Cavaliers to the Washington Wizards as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from Washington to Cleveland, Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers to Washington, Drew Gooden from Washington to Los Angeles, and Sebastian Telfair from Los Angeles to Cleveland.[14] On February 25, 2010, the Wizards bought out his contract, making him a free agent.[15] Ilgauskas did not play in any games for the Wizards.[16] It was possible for Ilgauskas to return to the Cavaliers, but only after a 30-day waiting period policy required for players traded from their former teams after being bought out of their contract by their new team. He was still free to sign with any other team.

On March 23, 2010, Ilgauskas signed a one-year deal for the remainder of the 2009–10 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[17][18] He made his return a day later in a win over the New Orleans Hornets. In his first home game back with the team, against the Sacramento Kings, Ilgauskas received huge ovations and support from the crowd. Quicken Loans Arena was affectionately renamed "The Z" for the day, in honor of the Lithuanian.[19][20]

The 2010 NBA playoffs marked the first time in Ilgauskas' career in which he was not a significant part of the Cavaliers' rotation. Ilgauskas saw only 69 minutes of floor time in the entire postseason, resulting in averages of 1.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG, far below his career playoff production. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

On March 8, 2014, Ilgauskas' number 11 was retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the time, he was only the third European to be honored in this way by an NBA team, after Dražen Petrović and Vlade Divac.[21][22][23]

Miami Heat (2010–2011)

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Ilgauskas with the Heat

On July 17, 2010, Ilgauskas signed with the Miami Heat.[24] The Heat's signings of Chris Bosh and long-time teammate LeBron James influenced Ilgauskas' decision to join the Heat.[24][25] On December 2, during the Heat's first game in Cleveland, the fans cheered Ilgauskas in pre-game introductions, while booing the rest of the starters, including James. The Heat made it to the 2011 NBA Finals, but fell short to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

In September 2011, Ilgauskas announced that he was retiring from basketball, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family as well as citing long-term personal physical fatigue and basic bodily wear-and-tear.[26][27]

National team career

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Ilgauskas made his debut with the Lithuania national team in 1994, when the team was qualifying for a spot in the EuroBasket 1995. He averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.[28] He later wanted to play for the Lithuania national team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the Cavaliers did not permit him to play due to his injury history.[29]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  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  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997–98 Cleveland 82* 81 29.0 .518 .250 .762 8.8 .9 .6 1.6 13.9
1998–99 Cleveland 5 5 34.2 .509 — .600 8.8 .8 .8 1.4 15.2
2000–01 Cleveland 24 24 25.7 .487 .000 .679 6.7 .8 .6 1.5 11.7
2001–02 Cleveland 62 23 21.4 .425 .000 .754 5.4 1.1 .3 1.4 11.1
2002–03 Cleveland 81 81 30.0 .441 .000 .781 7.5 1.6 .7 1.9 17.2
2003–04 Cleveland 81 81 31.3 .483 .286 .746 8.1 1.3 .5 2.5 15.3
2004–05 Cleveland 78 78 33.5 .468 .286 .799 8.6 1.3 .7 2.1 16.9
2005–06 Cleveland 78 78 29.3 .506 .000 .834 7.6 1.2 .5 1.7 15.6
2006–07 Cleveland 78 78 27.3 .485 .000 .807 7.7 1.6 .6 1.3 11.9
2007–08 Cleveland 73 73 30.4 .474 .000 .802 9.3 1.4 .5 1.6 14.1
2008–09 Cleveland 65 65 27.2 .472 .385 .799 7.5 1.0 .4 1.3 12.9
2009–10 Cleveland 64 6 20.9 .443 .478 .743 5.4 .8 .2 .8 7.4
2010–11 Miami 72 51 15.9 .508 .000 .783 4.0 .4 .3 .8 5.0
Career 843 724 27.2 .476 .310 .780 7.3 1.1 .5 1.6 13.0
All-Star 2 0 10.5 .556 .000 1.000 3.5 .5 .0 1.0 6.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998 Cleveland 4 4 36.8 .571 — .520 7.5 .5 .5 1.3 17.3
2006 Cleveland 13 13 27.2 .454 — .750 6.3 .8 .4 2.1 10.4
2007 Cleveland 20 20 32.5 .492 — .838 9.7 .9 .5 .8 12.6
2008 Cleveland 13 13 30.2 .479 — .818 7.5 1.6 .4 1.1 13.1
2009 Cleveland 14 14 29.1 .449 .154 .636 7.8 1.2 .4 .9 10.5
2010 Cleveland 7 0 9.9 .385 — .667 1.6 .4 .0 1.0 1.7
2011 Miami 9 8 11.6 .467 — .667 3.6 .3 .0 .3 3.6
Career 80 72 26.5 .477 .154 .744 6.9 .9 .3 1.1 10.2

Front office work

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On January 11, 2012, Ilgauskas made a return to Cleveland when he was hired by then Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant to serve as his assistant. His duties included evaluating amateur and pro talent prospects.[30]

Coaching career

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On September 18, 2015, Ilgauskas joined Saint Ignatius High School as the assistant coach for the boys' team.[31][32]

Personal life

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Ilgauskas and his wife were married during the summer of 2004. In 2007, the couple lost a set of twins due to pregnancy complications that caused the infants to be born four months premature.[33] In the summer of 2009, Ilgauskas adopted two Lithuanian brothers (aged five and four at the time) from his hometown of Kaunas.[34] On September 13, 2022, it was announced that Ilgauskas' wife died at the age of 50 on September 11.[35]

Ilgauskas is an avid reader. He particularly enjoys military history. During his playing career, he often read in the locker room before games.[36]

Ilgauskas became a United States citizen in 2013. In doing so, he lost his Lithuanian citizenship, as Lithuania limits the possibility of dual citizenship.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hughes, Grant. "Cleveland Cavaliers to Retire Zydrunas Ilgauskas' Jersey". Bleacher Report.
  2. ^ a b Delagrange, Dan. "Zydrunas Ilgauskas: The Ups and Downs of the New Mr. Cavalier". Bleacher Report.
  3. ^ "Cavs honor 'Big Z' as LeBron makes cameo". ESPN.com. March 9, 2014.
  4. ^ "Ilgauskas finally sets Cavs record for games". ESPN.com. December 3, 2009.
  5. ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Zydrunas Ilgauksas returns to Cavaliers in front office role". cleveland19.com. January 18, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: Zydrunas Ilgauskas making a comeback?". Yahoo! Sports. August 25, 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Cavs to sign big man to five-year deal". ESPN. July 12, 2005. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Cavaliers to announce re-signing of C Ilgauskas on Tuesday". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Cavaliers Acquire 15-Time NBA All-Star and Four-Time NBA Champion Shaquille ONeal". THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  11. ^ CHRISTIAN RED (June 25, 2009). "Cavs' Ilgauskas reacts to Shaq's arrival". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Zydrunas Ilgauskas knows what it means that Shaquille O'Neal has joined the Cleveland Cavaliers". cleveland.com. June 26, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  13. ^ Beaven, Chris (December 2, 2009). "Ilgauskas finally has his record day as Cavs rout Suns". cantonrep.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  14. ^ "Wizards Acquire Ilgauskas, Thornton and First-Round Pick In Three-Team Deal". NBA.com. February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  15. ^ "Wizards reach buyout deal with Zydrunas Ilgauskas". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012.
  16. ^ "Wizards buy out C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, waive him". February 25, 2010.
  17. ^ "Cavaliers Sign Zydrunas Ilgauskas". NBA.com. March 23, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  18. ^ "Ilgauskas signs with Cavaliers". ESPN.com. March 23, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  19. ^ "Ilgauskas welcomed in Cleveland return". ESPN.com. March 28, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  20. ^ Noland, Rick (March 29, 2010). "Cavaliers 97, Kings 90: Cavz, fanz show Z their love". Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  21. ^ "Cavaliers Retire Zydrunas Ilgauskas #11 Jersey". THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  22. ^ Zydrunas Ilgauskas Career Highlights. March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Zydrunas Ilgauskas' Jersey Retired by the Cavaliers. March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ a b "HEAT Signs Zydrunas Ilgauskas". NBA.com. July 17, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  25. ^ "Ilgauskas signs as Heat's ninth player". ESPN.com. July 17, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  26. ^ Reed, Tom (September 30, 2011). "Former Cleveland Cavalier Ilgauskas to retire". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  27. ^ Windhorst, Brian (October 1, 2011). "Zydrunas Ilgauskas retires from NBA". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  28. ^ "Zydrunas Ilgauskas – European Championship for Men (1995)". FIBA Europe. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  29. ^ "Cavs won't allow Ilgauskas to play for Lithuania in Games". ESPN.com. June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  30. ^ "Zydrunas Ilgauskas rejoins Cleveland Cavaliers as assistant to GM". ESPN. January 18, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  31. ^ Goul, Matt (September 18, 2015). "Former Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to help coach St. Ignatius' basketball team". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  32. ^ Goul, Matt (September 18, 2015). "St. Ignatius boys basketball coach Brian Becker 'looks forward to learning' from Zydrunas Ilgauskas". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  33. ^ Wallace, Michael (May 25, 2011). "Heat's Mike Miller thinking of daughter". Miami Heat Index. ESPN.com. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  34. ^ "Ž.Ilgauskas su žmona įsivaikino 2 berniukus iš Lietuvos". Delfi. August 27, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  35. ^ Vadaj, Rachel (September 13, 2022). "Wife of Cavaliers star Zydrunas Ilgauskas dies at 50". Cleveland 19. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  36. ^ Karp, Hannah (February 10, 2010). "The NBA's Locker-Room Nerds". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  37. ^ "NBA player Ilgauskas to be stripped of Lithuanian citizenship". Delfi. November 3, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
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