| Chicago Bulls | |
|---|---|
| Title | Executive vice president of basketball operations |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1971-04-27)April 27, 1971 (age 54) Klaipėda, Lithuania |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Listed height | 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Listed weight | 103 kg (227 lb) |
| Career information | |
| College | Seton Hall (1990–1994) |
| NBA draft | 1994:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1987–2002 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Career history | |
| 1987–1990 | Statyba Vilnius |
| 1994–1995 | Cholet |
| 1995–1997 | FC Barcelona[a] |
| 1997–1998 | Olympiacos Piraeus |
| 1998–2000 | Fortitudo Bologna[b] |
| 2000–2002 | FC Barcelona |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
| |
Artūras Karnišovas (born April 27, 1971) is a Lithuanian professionalbasketball executive and former player.[1] He is the current executive vice president of basketball operations of theChicago Bulls of theNational Basketball Association (NBA).
Karnišovas was born inKlaipėda to Mykolas, a basketball player, and Irena. Karnišovas started his career in Lithuania, withStatyba Vilnius, while in high school, and played there until 1990. His father also played for Statyba and they are the only father-son duo to play for the team at some point in their careers.[2][3] Expressing an interest in playing and studying in the United States, Karnišovas earned an invitation to playcollege basketball atSeton Hall University following a recommendation ofŠarūnas Marčiulionis to Seton Hall head coachP. J. Carlesimo during the1990 FIBA World Championship. Karnišovas was the first player from the USSR to play in an American college, and arrived there without knowing a single word of English.[4] In four years playing for theSeton Hall Pirates, Karnišovas helped the team win twoBig East tournaments and qualify for theNCAA tournament four straight times, being the only player to start for all squads.[5][6]
After trying and failing to draw interest from aNational Basketball Association (NBA) team, Karnišovas began playing overseas. His former college coach,P. J. Carlesimo, attributed his inability to play in North America to insufficient scouting and a more guaranteed financial return in Europe. Karnišovas is one of the few players to have played in Europe's four strongest national domestic league championships,Spain (forFC Barcelona),Italy (Fortitudo Bologna),Greece (Olympiacos Piraeus), andFrance (Cholet).[6][7] He reached theEuroLeague'sEuroLeague Final Four three times, and led the1998–99 EuroLeague season in free throw percentage (89.6%). He was chosen as FIBA's European Player of the Year in 1996, by FIBA Basket magazine.[6][8]
Karnišovas helped lead the senior men'sLithuanian national basketball team to consecutivebronze medals at theSummer Olympic Games in1992 and1996. He also played at the1998 FIBA World Championship. He also played at theEuroBasket 1995, where he won a silver medal, at theEuroBasket 1997, and at theEuroBasket 1999.[9][10]
Karnišovas worked for theNational Basketball Association's basketball operations office from 2003 to 2008, and afterwards became an internationalscout for theHouston Rockets for five years, while also directing theAdidas Eurocamp—a preparation tournament for European players picked in theNBA draft—in 2011 and 2012.[11]
On July 16, 2013, he became the assistantgeneral manager of theDenver Nuggets.[6][12]
Karnišovas was considered one of the top candidates to be the new general manager for theBrooklyn Nets in 2016.[13][14] In 2017, Karnišovas emerged as one of the candidates for the general manager position for theMilwaukee Bucks.[15][16] On June 6, 2017, he remained as one of their three last original candidates, along with Wes Wilcox andJustin Zanik.[17] On June 13, 2017, it was announced that only Karnišovas and the Bucks' interim general manager Zanik remained as top candidates for the position.[18] Two days later, on June 15, 2017, the Nuggets made Karnišovas their new general manager, withTim Connelly moving up to become the team's president of basketball operations.[19][20] The Bucks would eventually promote their director of basketball operations,Jon Horst, for their vacant general manager position instead. His first notable signing as a general manager was a multi-year contract withPaul Millsap on July 13, 2017.[21] On February 15, 2019, Karnišovas signed a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets.[22][23]
On April 13, 2020, Karnišovas was named executive vice president of basketball operations by theChicago Bulls.[24]
Karnišovas is married to Gina, whom he met at Seton Hall, and they live inChicago, with their three sons. The family previously resided inNorth Jersey andEnglewood, Colorado.[5][6]
Silver (1995)| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Lietuvos Krepšinis 1920–2004 | Himself | Documentary aboutbasketball in Lithuania in 1920–2004. | |
| 2012 | The Other Dream Team | Himself | Documentary about the Lithuania men's national basketball team at the1992 Summer Olympics. | [25] |
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