Mantas Kalnietis retires / News - Basketnews.com

Mantas Kalnietis announces retirement at the age of 36.

Credit: Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

Mantas Kalnietis, who has become a symbol of Zalgiris Kaunas and the Lithuanian national team over the years, is putting an end to his professional career.

Mantas Kalnietis

MIN:6.08PTS:0 (0%)REB:0.5As:1.5ST:0BL:0TO:1GM:2ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

The 36-year-old 196 cm tall guard will play his last professional game on January 29 in the Betsafe-LKL Championship game against Jonava CBet in Zalgirio Arena.

"This is a special event for me, and I want to announce to everyone that I am finishing my basketball career. I still have a week left before I play my farewell game, but this phase of my life, which has lasted since November 1993, is over. We will look for new goals in life," Kalnietis told Zalgiris TV.

The Kaunas-born player, who made his debut in Zalgiris main team in the 2005-2006 season and spent almost 10 seasons with the club, has also worn the jerseys of Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, and ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Kalnietis career achievements

2x silver medals at EuroBasket (2013, 2015) Bronze medal in FIBA World Cup (2010) 4x LKL champion (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012) EuroCup champion (2013) Italian Cup winner (2016) 2x Italian Super Cup winner (2016, 2017) Italian league champion (2018) French league champion (2019) French Cup winner (2019) VTB United League MVP (2021)

He returned to Zalgiris for the last stage of his career in the summer of 2021 and played a more prominent role in the local championship, where he averaged 13 minutes with 3.7 points and 3 assists to show.

According to Kalnietis, his decision to retire in the middle of the 2022-23 season was due to his reduced importance for the team and the line-up changes in Zalgiris.

"There were many reasons," Kalnietis said. "Basketball has always been a pleasure for me, not a job. I have always enjoyed playing basketball. There came the point when I couldn't get the role I used to play in the team. You just don't feel like you're fulfilling yourself."

"There came a moment when I realized that maybe I will be more useful to the team when I leave rather than when I was here. Injuries and signings of new players have imposed new financial burdens on the club, and I decided that this would make me more useful to Zalgiris," Kalnietis added.

Kalnietis will terminate his contract with Zalgiris on February 1.

For the final game of Kalnietis' career, Zalgiris is preparing a celebration for the player and the fans. On January 29, the green-and-white fans are invited to fill Zalgirio Arena and thank Kalnietis for his years of dedication to the team.

"No, I won't be marking down the days until the end of my career, but I have no doubt that there will be no shortage of emotions on the last day," the Zalgiris player said with a smile.

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.