 Martynas Pocius representingLithuania national team | |
| Denver Nuggets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Basketball operations associate |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1986-04-28)28 April 1986 (age 38) Vilnius,Lithuanian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 196 lb (89 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Holderness School (Holderness, New Hampshire) |
| College | Duke (2005–2009) |
| NBA draft | 2009:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2009–2017 |
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2011 | Žalgiris |
| 2011–2013 | Real Madrid |
| 2013–2014 | Žalgiris |
| 2014–2015 | Galatasaray |
| 2015–2017 | Žalgiris |
| 2016–2017 | →Murcia |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
Basketball operations associate: | |
Martynas Pocius (born 28 April 1986) is a Lithuanian former professionalbasketball player. He was also a member of theLithuanian national basketball team.
Martynas Pocius was born inVilnius to Gintaras, a basketball coach, and Jūratė, a physical education teacher.
At age 13, he suffered a serious injury to his left hand, partially cutting three fingers with agrinder while at school. Two fingers were re-attached, while one had to be partiallyamputated.[1]
Pocius attended the prestigiousHolderness School inPlymouth,New Hampshire, where he played on the basketball team in his last two years, leading the team to back-to-back New England Prep School Class C titles. In his first title run, during the 2003–04 season, Pocius averaged 18 points and 4,5 rebounds, and led the team to a 17–7 record. In the 2004–05 season, Pocius averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and led the team to a 19–10 record.
As a senior, he was ranked 40th overall and 12th amongshooting guards by Rivals.com and rated the 55th-top prospect (16th among shooting guards) by Scout.com. Pocius was also named to the World Select team for the 2005 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored a game high 20 points in a 98–106 loss to the USA.
After graduating from high school, Pocius committed toDuke University, where he played on theuniversity's basketball team, coached byMike Krzyzewski.
As a freshman, Pocius appeared in 28 games, averaging 1.5 points and 0.3 rebounds in 6.1 minutes. In his sophomore year, Pocius increased his stats, averaging 1.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes in 27 games. Throughout the season he was battling an ankle injury, for which he missed four games. Pocius underwent a season-ending surgery on his left ankle on 8 January 2008, during his junior year. Due to the surgery he only played 4 games in which he averaged 4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8 minutes. In his final season at Duke, Pocius played 22 games, averaging 1.5 points.
He graduated from Duke in 2009 with a degree in internationalcomparative studies.
After graduating from Duke, Pocius chose to continue his basketball career inEurope. He went back to his home country,Lithuania, and signed a multi-year contract withŽalgiris Kaunas.
In his debut season, Pocius averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16 games in theEuroLeague. Although Žalgiris Kaunas did not pass the Top 16 round, the team did perform better in their national and regional championships. Pocius led the team to theBaltic Basketball League (BBL) title, averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He also led the team to a second place inLietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL), after losing the final's best-of-seven series 4–3. Pocius averaged 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the season. Pocius also helped Žalgiris Kaunas win second place in theLKF Cup tournament and third place in theVTB United League.
During his second season with the team, Pocius led Žalgiris Kaunas to the Top 16 once more, but the team did move to the next round. Pocius averaged 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 games during his second Euroleague season, improving every individual stat. Though, Žalgiris Kaunas went on to win the LKF Cup, the BBL title, and the LKL championship. Pocius missed the LKL finals due to a season-ending injury. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout the season.
On 27 July 2011 it was announced that Pocius signed a contract withReal Madrid.[2] Despite solid play in the first season with Real Madrid, his game declined in the second season, due to numerous injuries. He won theCopa del Rey de Baloncesto in2012, and theLiga ACB in2013. Pocius left Real Madrid in July 2013.
Pocius returned to Žalgiris Kaunas in August 2013, signing a one-year deal. Pocius played solidly in the EuroLeague, helping the team reach the Top 16 stage despite suffering from injuries in the Top 16. Pocius finished the EuroLeague season averaging 10.8 points per game and helped Žalgiris Kaunas win the LKL championship, beatingLietuvos rytas Vilnius in the semifinals, andNeptūnas Klaipėda in the finals. Pocius left Žalgiris Kaunas in July 2014.
On 20 August 2014, Pocius officially signed a 1+1 contract with the Turkish teamGalatasaray Istanbul.[3] He averaged 6,2 points in the Euroleague competition.
On 29 July 2015, Pocius returned to Žalgiris Kaunas, signing a 1+1 contract.[4] After a difficult season where Pocius struggled with injuries and playing, and helping Žalgiris Kaunas to another LKL championship, he was loaned toUCAM Murcia.
On 16 June 2017, Pocius announced his retirement from professional basketball being just 31 years old due to injuries and pain he suffered while exercising.[5][6][7]
Shortly after retiring Pocius joined theDenver Nuggets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) as a basketball operations associate in August 2017.[8][9] On 15 February 2019, Pocius signed a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets.[10][11]
Pocius has played for Lithuania national teams in several tournaments. He played in the2004 European U-18 Championship inSpain, where he showed himself as a team leader, averaging 26 points, 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Pocius also represented Lithuania at the2006 European U-20 Championship inTurkey, where he led the team to a seventh-place finish, averaging 20 points per game. After his senior year at Duke, Pocius represented Lithuania at the2009 Summer Universiade inBelgrade,Serbia, where he led the team to a fifth-place finish, averaging 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
In 2010, Pocius made his debut with theLithuanian men's national team at the2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, where he was one of the leaders of the team and helped lead them to the bronze medals.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Žalgiris | 16 | 2 | 19.3 | .417 | .383 | .727 | 2.1 | 1.4 | .6 | .3 | 8.1 | 6.3 |
| 2010–11 | 16 | 8 | 23.9 | .396 | .300 | .708 | 2.7 | 2.3 | .4 | .1 | 10.9 | 8.3 | |
| 2011–12 | Real Madrid | 14 | 1 | 15.2 | .400 | .250 | .903 | 1.6 | .9 | .2 | .1 | 7.4 | 5.5 |
| 2012–13 | 12 | 0 | 10.2 | .371 | .211 | 1.000 | .8 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 3.2 | 2.2 | |
| 2013–14 | Žalgiris | 20 | 17 | 23.2 | .416 | .358 | .780 | 2.9 | 2.5 | .4 | .1 | 10.8 | 9.3 |
| 2014–15 | Galatasaray | 19 | 7 | 20.6 | .376 | .317 | .767 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | 6.2 | 4.3 |
| 2015–16 | Žalgiris | 19 | 5 | 14.1 | .343 | .192 | .667 | 1.8 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 3.4 | 1.8 |
| Career | 116 | 40 | 18.5 | .395 | .313 | .764 | 2.0 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | 7.3 | 5.5 | |
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