Rimantas "Rimas" Kaukėnas (born 11 April 1977) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. His long career has taken him to a number of countries, finding the most success in Italy. He has also been a member of the senior men's Lithuanian national team. Playing primarily at the shooting guard position, he can also play as a point guard.

Rimantas Kaukėnas
Rimantas Kaukėnas in 2013
Personal information
Born (1977-04-11) 11 April 1977 (age 47)
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Listed height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
High schoolPrattsburgh Central School
(Prattsburgh, New York)
CollegeSeton Hall (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000: undrafted
Playing career2000–2016, 2017
PositionShooting guard
Career history
2000–2001Hapoel Galil Elyon
2001–2002Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2002–2003Oostende
2003–2004Bonn
2004–2005Cantù
2005–2009Mens Sana Siena
2009–2010Real Madrid
2010–2012Mens Sana Siena
2012–2013Žalgiris Kaunas
2013Baskonia
2013–2016Reggiana
2017Reggiana
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
EuroBasket
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Spain National Team

Professional career

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Kaukėnas was a longtime member of Montepaschi Siena of the Italian Serie A.

On 5 August 2012 he signed for his homeland team Žalgiris Kaunas.[1]

He joined Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in December 2013, helping the side reach the finals of the 2014–15 Lega Basket Serie A. In July 2015, his contract was extended for another season.[2] On 7 July 2016 Kaukėnas retired from professional basketball.[3] On 7 January 2017 Kaukėnas came out of retirement and rejoined Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia for the rest of the season.[4][5]

National team

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Kaukėnas played with the senior men's Lithuanian national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2001, the EuroBasket 2007, where he won a bronze medal, and the EuroBasket 2011. He also played at both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

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Kaukėnas established the Rimantas Kaukenas Charity Group, which aims to provide "magical moments" for children with life-threatening medical conditions.[6] He is married to former Swedish-Serbian basketball player Tanja Kostić, with whom he has three daughters. Tanja follows the activities of RK Charity Group, while Rimantas is playing during the season. He is fluent in English, Italian and Russian.

EuroLeague career statistics

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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
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2005–06 Montepaschi Siena 14 12 28.5 .442 .302 .847 1.9 2.0 1.7 .0 15.1 12.9
2007–08 Montepaschi Siena 9 5 28.8 .431 .290 .882 2.6 2.6 1.6 .1 14.1 13.6
2008–09 Montepaschi Siena 18 5 28.8 .518 .368 .847 2.3 1.7 1.1 .0 14.8 12.8
2009–10 Real Madrid 18 10 21.4 .545 .353 .829 1.1 1.3 1.6 .0 10.3 8.1
2010–11 Montepaschi Siena 20 11 25.3 .445 .308 .902 2.0 1.9 1.1 .1 12.0 9.6
2011–12 Montepaschi Siena 6 6 25.3 .580 .643 1.000 2.2 2.5 1.2 .0 14.5 15.3
2012–13 Žalgiris Kaunas 24 11 20.3 .395 .344 .882 2.1 1.9 .8 .0 7.8 6.4
2013–14 Laboral Kutxa 5 1 12.3 .583 .000 1.000 1.4 1.0 .6 .2 3.6 3.8
Career 114 61 23.8 .510 .337 .874 1.9 1.8 1.0 .0 11.6 10.2

Awards and achievements

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Rimantas Kaukėnas with his career's last professional club Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in 2015.

References

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  1. ^ "Zalgiris Kaunas brings home veteran Kaukenas". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Reggio Emilia, Kaukenas stay together". EurocupBasketball.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Rimantas Kaukenas retires at 39". Sportando.com. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Kaukenas torna in campo. Mercoledì sarà presentato ai media". Pallacanestro Reggiana (in Italian). 7 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Il ritorno di Kaukenas: "Sono un rookie, cercherò di aiutare la squadra a crescere"". Pallacanestro Reggiana (in Italian). 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. ^ "About us". KaukenoParama.lt. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
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