Jānis Blūms (born 20 April 1982) is a Latvian former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in), Blūms played point guard and shooting guard positions. He also served as captain of the Latvia national team.
 Blūms with Bilbao Basket | |
| VEF Rīga | |
|---|---|
| Position | Chairman of the board |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 20 April 1982 Saldus, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Latvian |
| Listed height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Listed weight | 90 kg (198 lb) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2004: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1999–2020 |
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| Career history | |
| 1999–2001 | BK Brocēni |
| 2001–2003 | Skonto |
| 2003–2004 | Anwil Włocławek |
| 2004–2006 | Ventspils |
| 2006–2007 | Lietuvos rytas |
| 2007–2008 | Basket Napoli |
| 2008–2012 | Bilbao Basket |
| 2012–2013 | Lietuvos rytas |
| 2013–2014 | Astana |
| 2014–2015 | Panathinaikos |
| 2015–2016 | Sidigas Avellino |
| 2016–2017 | VEF Rīga |
| 2017–2018 | Zaragoza |
| 2018–2019 | Parma |
| 2019–2020 | VEF Rīga |
| 2020 | Pallacanestro Reggiana |
| 2022 | BK Saldus |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Professional career
editBlūms started his career with Brocēni and later continued to play in their successor Skonto. In 2003, he signed with Polish club Anwil Włocławek, where he spent one season before returning to Latvia, where he joined BK Ventspils. After two years in Ventspils, Blūms joined Lithuanian powerhouse BC Lietuvos rytas. In 2007, Blūms accepted an offer from the Italian side Eldo Napoli where he had a decent season.
In 2008, Blūms signed a two-year contract with Bilbao Basket of Spain's ACB League.[1] He spent four successful seasons in Bilbao. Some of the highlights with Bilbao include making Liga ACB finals, Euroleague quarterfinals and Eurocup Final Four (twice). During his tenure with Bilbao, Blūms developed a reputation as a fierce competitor who is deadly from three-point range and can play lock-down defense. Often he would guard the best player of the opposing team. Due to his passion and effort, he became one of the city's fan favorites.[2]
After his experience in Basque Country, Jānis moved back to Lietuvos Rytas, which played Euroleague that season. In July 2013, Blūms signed a one-year contract with BC Astana.[3]
On 1 October 2014, he signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos.[4] On 5 April 2015, he won the Greek Cup.
In July 2015, Janis signed with the Italian team Sidigas Avellino, coming back to Italy after seven years.[5]
On 23 August 2017, he signed with the Spanish club Tecnyconta Zaragoza.[6]
On 28 July 2020, at the age of 38, he signed with Pallacanestro Reggiana of Lega Basket Serie A (LBA)[7] but, by mutual agreement with the team, resigned after eight games played after the start of the season.[8]
On 30 August 2021, Blums announced his retirement from professional basketball.[9]
Career statistics
edit| 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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
Euroleague
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Bilbao Basket | 17 | 6 | 16.2 | .413 | .400 | .706 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 6.0 | 3.4 |
| 2012–13 | Lietuvos rytas | 9 | 5 | 19.8 | .309 | .316 | .875 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.9 | 4.7 |
| 2014–15 | Panathinaikos | 27 | 0 | 11.6 | .410 | .424 | .714 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| Career | 53 | 11 | 14.6 | .384 | .390 | .744 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 2.7 |
Trivia
editBlūms has declared that his favorite players and idols growing were Roberts Štelmahers and Ainars Bagatskis. Coincidentally, he played with Štelmahers in the Latvian national basketball team and Lietuvos rytas (2006-07).[10]
In 2010-11, Blūms was notable for not missing a single practice or a game with Bilbao Basket. He reported to training camp by mid-August, and his season ended in mid-June as his team Liga ACB finals.
National team career
editBlūms was an iconic figure for the Latvia national team, serving as the team's captain and making 170 appearances for the senior squad.
International stats
edit| Tournament | Games played | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 EuroBasket | 2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| 2007 EuroBasket | 3 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 2.0 |
| 2009 EuroBasket | 3 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| 2011 EuroBasket | 5 | 16.0 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| 2013 EuroBasket | 8 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| 2015 Eurobasket | 9 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 |
| 2017 Eurobasket | 7 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
References
edit- ^ iurbentia Bilbao Basket bags Janis Blums
- ^ Savējo mīlētais un pretinieku nīstais
- ^ BC Astana signs Latvian PG Janis Blums
- ^ Panathinaikos strengthens backcourt with Blums
- ^ Sidigas Avellino announces Janis Blums
- ^ Janis Blums inks with Basket Zaragoza
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 28, 2020). "Pallacanestro Reggiana officially signs Janis Blums". Sportando. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Risoluzione consensuale con Janis Blums" (in Italian). pallacanestroreggiana.it. 12 December 2020.
- ^ Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (August 30, 2021). "Latvian guard Janis Blums retires at 39". Sportando. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "JĀNIS BLŪMS". Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-09-03.