Darius Songaila
Songaila playing for Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
San Antonio Spurs
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1978-02-14) February 14, 1978
Kapsukas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High schoolNew Hampton School
(New Hampton, New Hampshire)
CollegeWake Forest (1998–2002)
NBA draft2002: 2nd round, 50th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career2002–2015
PositionPower forward / center
Number25, 9
Coaching career2015–present
Career history
As player:
2002–2003CSKA Moscow
2003–2005Sacramento Kings
2005–2006Chicago Bulls
2006–2009Washington Wizards
2009–2010New Orleans Hornets
2010–2011Philadelphia 76ers
2011–2012Galatasaray
2012Blancos de Rueda Valladolid
2012–2013Donetsk
2013–2014Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2014–2015Žalgiris Kaunas
As coach:
2015–2018Žalgiris Kaunas (assistant)
2020–presentSan Antonio Spurs (assistant)
Career highlights and awards

As assistant coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points3,415 (6.9 ppg)
Rebounds1,689 (3.4 rpg)
Assists589 (1.2 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
Summer Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney
EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Spain

Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He played at the power forward and center positions.

Early years

Songaila started his basketball career with Lietuvos rytas Marijampolė in second-tier Lithuanian league, the LKAL in 1995.[1] In 1997, he moved to the United States where he attended the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire. Songaila played the Nike Hoop Summit in 1998. He was also named to the All-European Under-22 Championship Second Team.

College career

Darius Songaila played college basketball at Wake Forest University. He was named Third Team All-ACC in 2000 and Second Team All-ACC in 2002. He was also named Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press as a senior.

Professional career

Songaila defending LeBron James
Songaila during his tenure with the Washington Wizards

Songaila was selected with the 50th pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, who eventually dealt his rights to the Sacramento Kings.[2]

He joined CSKA Moscow for the 2002–03 season and won the Russian Basketball Super League. He signed with the Kings in June 2003, and averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 154 games (28 starts) over two seasons.

Songaila signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bulls in September 2005.[3] He had his most successful season yet with the Bulls, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 62 games (7 starts). However, he suffered an ankle injury in March 2006 and missed the final 20 games.

On July 17, 2006, Songaila signed with the Washington Wizards. The deal reportedly was worth $23 million over five years.[4] He missed the first 45 games after a surgery for a herniated disc and averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 37 games (1 start).

Songaila eventually became a big part of the Wizards' bench and an occasional starter. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2007–08. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Songaila became a starter because of the injuries suffered by teammates Brendan Haywood and Andray Blatche. He started a career-high 29 games and averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

On June 23, 2009, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas, and a first-round draft pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.[5]

On September 9, 2009, he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets along with Bobby Brown in exchange for Antonio Daniels and a 2014 second round pick.[6]

On September 23, 2010, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers along with rookie forward Craig Brackins in exchange for Willie Green and Jason Smith.[7] Songaila had career lows with the 76ers, notably in points (1.6 ppg). With the 2010–11 season coming to an end, he became an unrestricted free agent.

In July 2011, he signed a one-year contract with Galatasaray in Turkey worth $1.5 million.[8]

In March 2012, several weeks after leaving Galatasaray, Songaila signed with Blancos de Rueda Valladolid. Later that year, he signed with BC Donetsk.[9]

On October 8, 2013, he signed with Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for one season.[10] On July 22, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas.[11]

At the end of the 2014–15 season, he retired from the professional basketball.[12]

Coaching career

Songaila with Žalgiris Kaunas in 2018
Songaila with Žalgiris Kaunas in 2018

On August 5, 2015 Songaila was appointed as an assistant coach for Žalgiris Kaunas.[13][14][15]

In August 2018, he became a quality assurance assistant in the video department for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[16] In September 2019, Songaila was promoted to a player development assistant.[17] In November 2020, Songaila was promoted to assistant coach.[18]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Sacramento 73713.4.487.000.8073.1.7.6.24.6
2004–05 Sacramento 812120.6.527.000.8474.21.4.6.27.5
2005–06 Chicago 62721.4.481.400.8174.01.4.6.39.2
2006–07 Washington 37118.9.524.000.8523.61.0.5.37.6
2007–08 Washington 801319.4.458.000.9183.41.7.7.26.2
2008–09 Washington 772919.8.532.000.8892.91.2.8.37.4
2009–10 New Orleans 75118.8.494.167.8113.1.9.8.27.2
2010–11 Philadelphia 1007.1.467.000.5001.00.2.0.01.6
Career 4957918.6.499.158.8443.41.2.7.26.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004 Sacramento 7012.1.625.0001.0001.9.3.0.13.7
2005 Sacramento 5015.0.421.000.8002.8.6.4.24.0
2007 Washington 4022.5.488.0001.0003.31.0.8.010.8
2008 Washington 5015.4.421.000.8672.6.8.2.05.8
Career 21015.6.484.000.8972.5.6.3.15.6

EuroLeague

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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2002–03 CSKA Moscow 181621.6.475.286.8473.91.1.6.212.810.8
2011–12 Galatasaray 101015.3.455.000.7142.8.4.4.06.53.3
2013–14 Lietuvos rytas 10821.9.473.000.6674.81.3.7.18.28.0
2014–15 Žalgiris 24214.5.492.000.7782.5.9.6.15.84.5
Career623617.8.477.286.7943.31.0.6.18.36.7

See also

References

  1. ↑ Songaila started his career in Lietuvos Rytas Marijampolė Archived January 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian)
  2. ↑ "NBA Draft Board". nba.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Bulls sign free agent forward Songaila". ESPN.com. September 23, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Agent: Songaila signs 5-year, $23M deal with Wizards". July 17, 2006.
  5. ↑ "Source: Foye, Miller head to Wiz". June 24, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ "HORNETS ACQUIRE SONGAILA, BROWN FROM TIMBERWOLVES". NBA.com. September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Rookie Craig Brackins traded to 76ers". September 23, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ Galatasaray lands big man Songaila
  9. ↑ Darius Songaila signs in Ukraine
  10. ↑ Lietuvos Rytas signs Darius Songaila (in Lithuanian)
  11. ↑ "Zalgiris Kaunas announces Songaila". Euroleague.net. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Darius Songaila baigia profesionalaus krepšininko karjerą". ve.lt (in Lithuanian). June 7, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Suformuotas Kauno "Žalgirio" trenerių štabas – su Dariumi Songaila ir Šarūnu Jasikevičiumi" (in Lithuanian). 15min.lt. August 5, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Songaila Calls It A Day, Turns To Coaching". FIBA Europe. August 5, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Zalgiris names Saras head coach through 2018". Euroleague.net. August 5, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ Garcia, Jeff (August 26, 2018). "Darius Songaila announces he's set to start work in player development for Spurs". WOAI. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ Garcia, Jeff (September 20, 2019). "Spurs announce coaching staff additions, basketball operations promotions". WOAI. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  18. ↑ Tracy, Gerald (November 12, 2020). "Spurs promote from within for Tim Duncan replacement". WOAI. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
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