By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
In his second year with Zalgiris Kaunas, Kevin Pangos led the franchise to “where no man has gone before” this century.
For the first time since their championship run in 1999, Zalgiris advanced to the EuroLeague playoffs. The Top Eight of a long and strenuous championship, and a competition where almost all clubs have a higher budget than the Lithuanian side.
For a team with such a rich history and for a city and a country where everyone “lives” and “breathes” basketball, this is some seriously big stuff.
“You know… the city almost shuts down during game time,” Pangos told Eurohoops on the eve of the last game of the EuroLeague Regular Season and with his team already playoff-bound. “It’s huge. Everyone is embracing basketball in Lithuania.”
The 25-year-old Canadian guard himself is having nothing less than a bonafide All-EuroLeague Team-caliber season: He delivers in scoring with a team-high average 12.4 points per game, bringing into the mix some venomous perimeter shooting (65/134, 48.5% threes). He creates abundantly with 6.4 assists per game and is currently ranked third among the top passers in EuroLeague.
Pangos is basically the master-cog in his team’s offensive machinery during the most successful EuroLeague season that Zalgiris has seen in ages. Small wonder that he has achieved something sort of a… star status in Kaunas.
“This season I get recognized when I’m walking around. For a guy like me who has an average height, that’s pretty impressive”, Pangos jokes. “Usually I kind of blend right in. It feels special to receive such support and love.”
While the transition from sunny Las Palmas, Gran Canaria – where he spent his first year as a professional player – to cold Kaunas wasn’t exactly smooth at first, Pangos has now become more than accustomed to life in the Lithuanian city.
“I got spoiled a bit with the sun in my first year in Europe in Las Palmas. It took me a bit to get used to Kaunas. The weather is a bit different. But this year I feel much more comfortable. I know the restaurants, people in the community. I have everything I need. Our facility is one of a kind in Europe. I spent more time there than in my own apartment I think.”
“The seasons are really similar to home. It’s been great. It’s all I can ask for. It’s also comfortable to be in this kind of city.”
From his debut pro season in Spain with Gran Canaria in 2015-2016 when he earned All-EuroCup Second Team honors, to signing with a EuroLeague club and now making a major buzz in the best league in the world outside the NBA, Pangos’ progress is on a continuous upward course. Every year has been a step forward for the former Gonzaga star and that’s just making thirsty for more.
“I’m happy with it (his progress). It’s something I pride myself on. I’m happy with it but not satisfied at all. I want to keep getting better. There are the playoffs this year but there’s a lot room to go. There’s the Final Four. There’s the EuroLeague title. Lots of things to be checked off.”
Is one of those things an NBA contract? Pangos tried his luck in the Summer League last year but didn’t manage to find the NBA deal he wanted.
Carrying an extra reason to be highly motivated, he returned to Kaunas, where he has been flying colors in his second year with Zalgiris. His production rates have seen a major spike and, also a result, his team has elevated to another level in EuroLeague.
“Any chance that you don’t get picked, it affirms the flame in you. I’ll just keep on trying to fulfill that dream. I grew up watching the Toronto Raptors etc. That experience was great and I came here and continued to chip away and keep getting better.”
“Being in Europe is amazing. The competition is outstanding. People might not recognize it worldwide but it is. But playing among the best of the best in the world would be at the top of the list,” Pangos said.
Until then though there’s still plenty of work left undone with Zalgiris Kaunas. And for now, Kevin Pangos is locked on the great challenge ahead for him and his team: The EuroLeague playoff series against Olympiacos.
“That’s stuff is out of my control. I can’t worry about much. So I’m focused on what is going on right here right now. And get the job done.”
Click here for more EuroLeague news.