By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Linas Kleiza is the new vice president and Sports Director of Lietuvos Rytas.
As reported by 15min.LT, his appointment was announced during today’s (13/7) meeting of the shareholders that took place in Vilnius. The assembly included club president Antanas Guoga, club director Darius Gudelis and Vilnius mayor Remigijus Simasius.
During his playing career, that ended prematurely due to a series of injuries, Kleiza had been one of the most prominent players of Lithuanian basketball. He led his country’s national team to the bronze medal in the 2010 World Cup (where he was also named in the All-Tournament Team) while being an important member of the squad in the EuroBasket 2013 (silver medal) and EuroBasket 2007 (bronze medal) ventures.
Kleiza began his professional career with the Denver Nuggets where he played for four years before joining Olympiacos. During 2009/2010, he helped the Greek club reach the EuroLeague Final while winning the “Alphonso Ford” Top Scorer trophy and being named in the All-EuroLeague First Team.
He returned to the NBA the following season to play for the Toronto Raptors. In 2013 he came back to Europe for Fenerbahce with which he won the 2014 Turkish League. He then spent one season with Olimpia Milano.