Saulius Štombergas

Saulius Štombergas (born December 14, 1973) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, coach and businessman. Štombergas is widely considered to be among the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, known for his leadership and 3-point shooting ability.

Professional career Štombergas' club teams during his playing career, were, in the order in which he played for them: Atletas Kaunas, Vostok Shanghai (Chinese CBA), Žalgiris Kaunas, Kinder Bologna, TAU Cerámica Vitoria, Efes Pilsen Istanbul, Unics Kazan, and Ülker Istanbul. He holds the record in the EuroLeague, since the year 2000, for the most 3-point field goals made in a game, without a miss.

National team career Štombergas played for the senior men's Lithuanian national basketball team, from 1995 to 2004.

During the 11 years that he played as a Lithuanian international national team player, he played in 97 official games, and scored 1,036 points, for his home country. He won two bronze medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in 1996, and 2000. He also won a silver medal at the EuroBasket 1995, and as the captain of the senior national team, he won the gold medal of the same competition, in 2003. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

He also played at the EuroBasket 1997, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, the EuroBasket 1999, the EuroBasket 2001, and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He was the flag bearer for Team Lithuania, at the 2004 Olympics.

Coaching career After he retired from playing professional basketball, Štombergas began his career as a basketball coach in 2011. He worked as a head coach for BC Žalgiris-2 in the NKL, before joining BC Žalgiris as an assistant coach for the 2012-2013 season. He briefly served as head coach in the 2013-2014 season, before resigning in April after disappointing results.

Career player statistics

EuroLeague

Awards and honors As a player Pro clubs 5× Lithuanian All-Star Game: 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003 Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP: 1995 FIBA Saporta Cup Champion: 1998 FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP: 1998 FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer: 1998 3× Lithuanian League Champion: 1998, 1999, 2003 FIBA EuroStar: 1998 North European League Champion: 1999 EuroLeague champion: 1999 Spanish League All-Star Game: 2001 2× Turkish Cup Winner: 2002, 2005 Turkish League Champion: 2002 FIBA Europe League (FIBA EuroChallenge) All-Star: 2004 FIBA Europe League (FIBA EuroChallenge) Champion: 2004 Turkish Super Cup Winner: 2004 Turkish League All-Star Game: 2005

Lithuanian senior national team 1995 EuroBasket: 1996 Summer Olympic Games: 1998 Goodwill Games: 2000 Summer Olympic Games: 2003 EuroBasket: 2003 EuroBasket: All-Tournament Team

State awards Recipient of the Medal of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1995) Recipient of the Commander's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1996) Recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (2003)