Donatas Motiejūnas

Donatas Motiejūnas

Motiejūnas with the Houston Rockets in October 2013
Free agent
Position Power forward / Center
Personal information
Born (1990-09-20) September 20, 1990
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
Playing career 2005–present
Career history
2005–2007 Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school Kaunas
2007–2008 Žalgiris Kaunas
2007–2008 →Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school Kaunas
2008–2009 Aisčiai Kaunas
2009–2012 Benetton Basket Treviso
2011–2012 →Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2012–2016 Houston Rockets
2012–2013;
2016		 →Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA EuroBasket
2013 Slovenia National Team
FIBA European U-20 Championship
2008 Latvia National Team
FIBA European U-18 Championship
2008 Greece National Team

Donatas Motiejūnas (Lithuanian pronunciation: ​[d̪ɔˈn̪äːt̪ɐs̪ moːtʲiəˈjûːn̪ɐs̪]; born September 20, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted 20th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves[1] before going on to win the 2012 Polish Basketball League championship with Asseco Prokom Gdynia.

European career

Lithuania (2005–2009)

Motiejūnas (front) with Benetton Treviso in 2011.

In 2005, Motiejūnas began his career playing with Žalgiris Kaunas' junior team, Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school, who play in the Lithuanian National Basketball League. In 2007–08, he made his debut for the senior team in a Baltic League game against the ASK Riga. He scored 15 points in 22 minutes.[2][3]

In 2008, Motiejūnas signed with Aisčiai Kaunas for the 2008–09 season where he went on to average 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.[4]

Italy (2009–2011)

In August 2009, Motiejūnas signed a multi-year deal with Benetton Treviso of the Lega Basket Serie A.[5] In 33 league games in 2009–10, he averaged 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[3]

In April 2010, Motiejūnas declared for the 2010 NBA draft, but later withdrew and returned to Benetton.[6][7] He went on to win the 2011 Eurocup Rising Star award after helping Benetton reach the Eurocup 2010–11 Final Four, averaging 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.[3][8]

Poland (2011–2012)

On June 23, 2011, Motiejūnas was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.[1] The next day, his rights were traded, along with Jonny Flynn, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Brad Miller and the draft rights to the 23rd overall pick, Nikola Mirotić.[9] Due to the NBA lockout, Motiejūnas returned to Europe.

On September 22, 2011, Benetton loaned Motiejūnas to Asseco Prokom of Poland for the 2011–12 season.[10][11] On December 7, 2011, he recorded a career-high 21 rebounds (18 defensive) against Union Olimpija, the most defensive rebounds in a Euroleague game in the Euroleague Basketball era (2000–01 season onwards).[12] He also helped lead Asseco Prokom to a ninth consecutive PLK title in 2012. During the seventh and final game of the PLK Finals, he recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds.[13]

NBA career

Houston Rockets (2012–2016)

2012–13 season

Motiejūnas defending Jeff Withey in October 2013

On July 6, 2012, Motiejūnas signed four-year, rookie scale contract with the Houston Rockets[14] and joined them for the 2012 NBA Summer League. In his summer league debut, he recorded 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.[15] After the game, he quoted a famous Lithuanian idiom describing his debut: "Jeigu bijai vilko – neik į mišką" (English: If you're scared of wolves, don't go into the woods).[16] Overall, he averaged 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in four games.[17]

On November 14, 2012, Motiejūnas was assigned to Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League.[18] In his D-League debut on November 23, he recorded 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steals. Two days later, he was recalled by the Rockets.[19] He was later reassigned two more times throughout the season and in seven D-League games, he averaged 20.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.[20] In 44 games for the Rockets, he averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.

2013–14 season

On October 30, 2013, the Rockets exercised their third-year team option on Motiejūnas' rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2014–15 season.[21] As a result of a disappointing start to the 2013–14 season with little playing time, Motiejūnas said: “When you give everything you got, you want to get something back and we are not getting for a long time. It’s really not easy to just sit and watch when others are playing. I try to stay positive. I try to help the team. I try to be productive in practices. That’s all I can do. That’s all that is in my power and other things are not in my power so I can not be worried about those things.”[22] He went on to play 62 games for the Rockets while averaging 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

2014–15 season

In August 2014, Motiejūnas came under fire for comments made about his Rocket teammates James Harden and Dwight Howard, describing their relationship as "Hi & bye. They even eat separately from the team. Usually in some fast food place." The comments came in an interview with Lithuanian media.[23] It was later revealed that Motiejūnas was misquoted in his comments due to an incorrect translation by Lithuanian media from Lithuanian to English.[24]

On October 30, 2014, the Rockets exercised their fourth-year team option on Motiejūnas' rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.[25] With Dwight Howard out for a string of 11 games during November and December, and Terrence Jones out for the majority of the first half of the season, Motiejūnas began to dominate in shaping a career-best season as he averaged 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in Howard's 11-game absence.[26] Then, even with Howard's return on December 13, Motiejūnas scored a then career-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting to help the Rockets defeat the Denver Nuggets, 108-96.[27]

On January 30, 2015, Motiejūnas scored a career-high 26 points in a 93-87 win over the Boston Celtics.[28] On March 27, he was ruled out for one to two weeks with lower back pain and tightness.[29] However, the injury later ruled him out for the rest of the season[30] and put his changes of playing for the Lithuanian national team in doubt.[31]

In his third NBA season, Motiejūnas led the league in post-up field goal percentage (53.4%), with his biggest competitor being fellow Lithuanian Jonas Valančiūnas of the Toronto Raptors (51.3%).[32] In recognition, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle awarded Motiejūnas an "A" grade for his 2014–15 season performance.[33]

2015–16 season

On December 1, 2015, Motiejūnas was cleared to return to practice, having been out since March 2015 after requiring surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back.[34] Four days later, he returned to the Rockets' line-up and made his season debut, earning a standing ovation when he entered the game for the first time during the first quarter of the team's 120–113 win over the Sacramento Kings. He had one rebound and took a charge in six minutes of play.[35] In his fourth game back, on December 12, Motiejūnas scored 11 points off the bench in a 126–97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[36] He played in 14 straight games for the Rockets, including making one start, before more back pain forced him out again. He subsequently missed all of January's action, and on January 30, he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for the first time since 2013[37] to complete his rehab from the back injury.[38] He later received two more assignments to the Vipers.[39]

On February 18, 2016, Motiejūnas and Marcus Thornton were traded to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team trade involving the Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers.[40] However, four days later, the Pistons rescinded their trade following a failed physical by Motiejūnas.[41][42] On February 27, Motiejūnas returned to the Rockets' line-up and played for the first time since December 31.[43] The Rockets finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 41–41 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets faced the first-seeded Golden State Warriors, and in a Game 3 win on April 21, Motiejūnas recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds for his first career double-double in the postseason.[44]

Brooklyn Nets

On December 2, 2016, Motiejūnas signed a four-year, $37 million offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets.[45]

Career statistics

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

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Žalgiris Kaunas 3 0 7.2 .200 .000 1.000 2.7 .0 .0 .0 1.3 1.3
2011–12 Asseco Prokom 10 10 31.3 .436 .304 .455 7.9 .9 .6 .8 12.5 13.7
Career 13 10 25.7 .426 .292 .486 6.7 .7 .5 .6 9.9 10.8

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Houston 44 14 12.2 .455 .289 .627 2.1 .7 .2 .2 5.7
2013–14 Houston 62 3 15.4 .443 .250 .604 3.6 .5 .3 .3 5.5
2014–15 Houston 71 62 28.7 .504 .368 .602 5.9 1.8 .8 .5 12.0
2015–16 Houston 37 22 14.8 .439 .281 .642 2.9 1.1 .5 .1 6.2
Career 214 101 19.0 .475 .308 .612 4.0 1.1 .5 .3 7.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013 Houston 1 0 5.0 1.000 .000 1.000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 5.0
2016 Houston 5 4 19.6 .432 .444 .471 5.2 1.0 .8 .4 8.8
Career 6 4 17.2 .462 .444 .500 4.5 .8 .7 .3 8.2

National team career

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.

Motiejūnas led Lithuania's junior national team to the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA Europe 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.[46] At the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[47]

In 2013, Motiejūnas won a silver medal with Lithuania's national team at the FIBA EuroBasket tournament and went on compete for the national team at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 7.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in nine games.[48]

In June 2015, Motiejūnas ruled himself out of the 2015 FIBA EuroBasket to continue recovering from a back injury he sustained while playing for the Houston Rockets.[49]

Personal life

Motiejūnas has a large tattoo on his chest of an eagle clutching a basketball. He explained, "I really like the attitudes of eagles. They never give up. When they grab a fish or something else, they never let it go."[50][51] Motiejūnas is a huge fan of FC Bayern Munich and Germany national football team.[52]

References

  1. 1 2 Ziller, Tom (June 23, 2011). "2011 NBA Draft Results: Donatas Motiejunas Drafted By Timberwolves With No. 20 Pick". SBNation.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Donatas Motiejūnas – Krepsinis.net". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "MOTIEJUNAS, DONATAS – Euroleague.net". Euroleague.net. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Donato Motiejūno sezono statistika". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Another great signing by Benetton: Donatas Motiejunas". Sportando.com. August 6, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Donatas Motiejunas has entered in NBA draft". Sportando.com. April 23, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Motiejunas out of NBA draft, back to Benetton". Sportando.com. June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  8. ↑ "2010-11 Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner: Donatas Motiejunas, Benetton Bwin". EurocupBasketball.com. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Rockets acquire guard Jonny Flynn". ESPN.com. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Benetton Treviso loans Motiejunas to Prokom and signs Scalabrine". Sportando.com. September 22, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Asseco Prokom lands Eurocup Rising Star Motiejunas". Euroleague.net. September 22, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Eurolygos rekordą pagerinęs Motiejūnas atvedė „Asseco Prokom" į pirmą pergalę (video, statistika)". BasketNews.it (in Lithuanian). December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Motiejūnas atvedė „Asseco Prokom" iki Lenkijos čempionų titulo". BasketNews.it (in Lithuanian). June 6, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Rockets sign center Motiejunas to multiyear deal". NBA.com. July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ Friedman, Jason (July 13, 2012). "Summer League Diary Day One: Rockets vs. Raptors". NBA.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  16. ↑ Friedman, Jason (July 13, 2012). "A Wolf Among Wolves". NBA.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  17. ↑ "2012 Summer League Statistics – Donatas Motiejunas". NBA.com. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Rockets Launched: Houston Assigns Machado, Motiejunas to NBA D-League Affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers". NBA.com. November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Houston Rockets recall Donatas Motiejunas from D-League". InsideHoops.com. November 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Rockets recall Donatas Motiejunas from D-League again". InsideHoops.com. January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  21. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (October 30, 2013). "Rockets pick up options on Motiejunas, Jones". Chron.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Frustrated Motiejunas Just Wants to Play". Tumblr.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Rockets' Motiejunas misquoted about Harden, Howard not eating with team". SI.com. August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ Carbaugh, Dane (August 8, 2014). "Donatas Motiejunas sets record straight on Howard, Harden comments". SportingNews.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  25. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (October 30, 2014). "Rockets pick up fourth-year options on Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas". Chron.com. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Donatas Motiejunas 2014-15 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Howard, Harden lead Rockets over Nuggets, 108-96". NBA.com. December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Motiejunas scores 26, Rockets top Celtics for 4th win in row". NBA.com. January 31, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  29. ↑ Creech, Jenny Dial (March 27, 2015). "Rockets PF Donatas Motiejunas sidelined for 1-2 weeks with back pain". Chron.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  30. ↑ Watkins, Calvin (April 8, 2015). "Houston Rockets lose Donatas Motiejunas for season with back injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  31. ↑ "D.Motiejūno žaidimas Lietuvos rinktinėje pakibo ant plauko?". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Paaiškėjo statistinis rodiklis, pagal kurį abu lietuviai NBA neturėjo lygių". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  33. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (May 28, 2015). "Rockets report card: Grading the 2014-15 roster". Chron.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  34. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (December 1, 2015). "Donatas Motiejunas cleared for practice". Chron.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Harden's 31 help Rockets over Kings 120-113". NBA.com. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Harden leads Rockets to lopsided 126-97 win over Lakers". NBA.com. December 13, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Fwd: Rockets Assign K.J. McDaniels and Donatas Motiejunas to Rio Grande Valley". OurSportsCentral.com. January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  38. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (January 29, 2016). "Rockets' Donatas Motiejunas heading to D-League in next step of rehab". Chron.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  39. ↑ "2015-16 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Rockets Acquire First Round Pick in Three-Way Trade with Detroit and Philadelphia". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Detroit Pistons Rescind Trade Acquiring Forward Donatas Motiejunas and Guard Marcus Thornton". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  42. ↑ Watkins, Calvin (February 22, 2016). "Pistons void trade with Rockets when Donatas Motiejunas fails physical". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  43. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (February 27, 2016). "Rockets' Donatas Montiejunas healthy and ready to play". Chron.com. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Harden's late shot lifts Rockets over Warriors 97-96". NBA.com. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  45. ↑ Blinebury, Fran (December 2, 2016). "Report: Brooklyn Nets sign Donatas Motiejunas to offer sheet". NBA.com. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  46. ↑ "MOTIEJUNAS MVP, TWO GREEKS IN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM". FIBAEurope.com. August 3, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  47. ↑ "Donatas Motiejunas's profile – FIBA.com". FIBA.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  48. ↑ "2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup – Donatas MOTIEJUNAS". FIBA.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  49. ↑ "Donatas Motiejunas says he will not play at Eurobasket 2015". Sportando.com. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Rockets Assign Duo to NBA D-League". NBA.com. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Donatas Motiejūnas Houston Rockets Talk". Youtube.com. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  52. ↑ "D.Motiejūnas – apie sunkią NBA kelionę, rinktinę, D.Sabonio potencialą ir žinutę vaikams". 24sek.lt. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

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