Andrejs Gražulis (born 21 July 1993) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague.
 Gražulis with Latvia men's national basketball team in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 24 – Virtus Bologna | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | LBA EuroLeague | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 July 1993 Koknese, Latvia | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Latvian | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2012–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Ventspils | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | →Valmiera | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Ventspils | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Parma Basket | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | VEF Rīga | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Derthona | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Trieste | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Dolomiti Energia Trento | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Virtus Bologna | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early career
editGražulis started playing organized basketball at the age of 16. His main sport as a young teenager had been athletics, but in 2009 he was discovered during open try-outs held by BK Ventspils.[1] He joined Ventspils youth academy and later started playing for its main team.
Professional career
editOn 14 July 2017 Gražulis signed with Parma Basket of the VTB United League for the 2017–18 season.[2] He spent the 2019-20 season with Derthona where he averaged 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in Serie A2. Gražulis signed with Allianz Trieste on 19 June 2020.[3] He averaged 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. On 3 July 2021 Gražulis re-signed with the team.[4]
On 17 June 2022 he signed with Dolomiti Energia Trento of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[5]
International career
editIn July 2013, Gražulis represented U20 Latvian National Team that won silver in U20 European Championship. Gražulis made key basket at the end of the game to secure Latvia's win over Spain and place in finals.[6]
In the following year he received first call-up to Latvian National Team.[7]
On September 7, 2023, Gražulis scored a game-high 28 points in a win against Italy in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup 5th-8th place classification round, making 12/13 field goals 9/10 free throws, and 3/3 three-pointers.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Basketbola talanti atkal satiksies Ventspilī – BK Ventspils". bkventspils.lv. Archived from the original on 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ Basketbola izlases kandidāts Gražulis pievienojas Mazura trenētajam Krievijas klubam «Parma»
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (June 19, 2020). "Trieste signs Andrejs Grazulis". Sportando. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (July 3, 2021). "Trieste keeps Andrejs Grazulis". Sportando. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (June 17, 2022). "Dolomiti Energia Trentino announced Andrejs Gražulis". Sportando. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ "Gražulis iestumj Latvijas U20 izlasi Eiropas finālā". sportacentrs.com. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ "Vīriešu izlase: starp 18 kandidātiem Janičenoks, Blūms un 6 debitanti – Vīriešu izlase – Latvijas Basketbola savienība". basket.lv. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ "Italy v Latvia boxscore - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 - 7 September - FIBA.basketball". FIBA. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.