_Bertans_(cropped).jpg) Bertāns withLatvia in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 9 – VEF Rīga | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | LEBL | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1989-09-09)9 September 1989 (age 35) Valmiera,Latvian SSR,Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Latvian | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2011:undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2004–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Valmiera Lacplesa Alus | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | ASK Rīga | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Ventspils | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | VEF Rīga | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Dominion Bilbao Basket | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Darüşşafaka Doğuş | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Olimpia Milano | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | New Orleans Pelicans | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Khimki | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Coosur Real Betis | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | VEF Rīga | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Dairis Bertāns (born 9 September 1989) is a Latvian professionalbasketball player forVEF Rīga of theLatvian–Estonian Basketball League. Bertāns also plays for theLatvia national basketball team. He is the older brother ofDāvis Bertāns. He is a 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m), 200-pound (91 kg)shooting guard.
From 2004 to 2006, Bertāns played forValmiera and its junior team. In 2006, he signed withASK Rīga. In 2006–07, he played for ASK Rīga's junior team, and in 2007–08, he made his debut for the senior squad.
In March 2009, he left ASK Rīga following the club's financial difficulties and signed a two-year deal withVentspils.[1]
In August 2010, he signed a two-year deal withVEF Rīga.[2] VEF Rīga's coach at the time,Rimas Kurtinaitis, saw potential in Bertāns as a point guard despite primarily being a shooting guard. So, during the 2010–11 season, Bertāns developedpoint guard skills to a different level, and was one of the key factors in VEF Rīga's first championship.
In July 2012, he re-signed with VEF Rīga on a three-year deal.[3]
In June 2013, Bertāns parted ways with VEF Rīga to sign a three-year deal withBilbao Basket of theLiga ACB.[4] In one of his first games with Bilbao, he scored 19 points in a preseason game against thePhiladelphia 76ers of theNBA.[5]
In July 2014, Bertāns joined theBoston Celtics for the2014 NBA Summer League.[6]
In his second season with Bilbao, Bertāns helped the team to reach the2015 ACB Playoffs as the fifth seed, but they eventually lost toValencia in the quarterfinals.
In July 2015, Bertāns joined theSan Antonio Spurs for the2015 NBA Summer League. He averaged 11.3 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 in three games played for the Spurs.[7]
On 20 January 2016, Bertāns recorded a season-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-11 from three-point range, along with four rebounds and two assists in a 76–78 loss toBayern Munich.[8]
On 13 July 2016, Bertāns signed a 1+1-year deal with Turkish clubDarüşşafaka Doğuş under head coachDavid Blatt.[9] On 12 January 2017, Bertāns recorded a career-high 29 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, along with five assists in a 98–89 win overBaskonia.[10] Bertāns helped the team to reach the2017 EuroLeague Playoffs as the eighth seed, but they eventually were eliminated byReal Madrid in the quarterfinals.
On 10 July 2017, Bertāns signed with Italian clubOlimpia Milano.[11] In his first season with Milano, Bertāns helped Milano to win the2018 Italian League championship.
On 29 June 2018, Bertāns re-signed with Milano for the 2018–19 season.[12] However, on 1 March 2019, Bertāns parted ways with Milano so he can continue the season in the NBA.[13]
On 2 March 2019, Bertāns signed with theNew Orleans Pelicans.[14] Bertāns later made his NBA debut eight days later, recording just one assist in six minutes of action in a 128–116 loss to theAtlanta Hawks.[15] He then recorded a rebound two days later in a 130–113 loss to theMilwaukee Bucks.[16] He made his first basket with a three-pointer in a 138–136 overtime loss to thePhoenix Suns on 16 March.[17] On 7 July 2019, he was waived by the Pelicans.[18]
On 8 July 2019, Bertāns signed a two-year contract withKhimki,[19] reuniting with head coachRimas Kurtinaitis.[20] He played in 21 out of 28Euroleague games[21] andBC Khimki won 13 games, placing them 7th place in the standings,[22] which would qualify the team toplayoffs. On 25 May 2020, Euroleague Basketball cancelled its competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23]
On 27 July 2021, Bertāns signed withReal Betis of theLiga ACB.[24]
On 14 July 2023, it was announced that after ten years away from home, Bertāns had returned toVEF Rīga, signing a two-year contract.[25]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | New Orleans | 12 | 0 | 13.9 | .255 | .294 | – | .8 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 2.8 |
| Career | 12 | 0 | 13.9 | .255 | .294 | – | .8 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 2.8 | |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Darüşşafaka | 32 | 7 | 16.1 | .463 | .500 | .836 | .7 | 1.3 | .2 | .1 | 6.4 | 5.4 |
| 2017–18 | Milano | 28 | 4 | 18.4 | .417 | .409 | .857 | 1.0 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | 7.1 | 5.3 |
| 2018–19 | 22 | 11 | 16.6 | .479 | .536* | .824 | 1.0 | .6 | .7 | — | 6.4 | 5.1 | |
| 2019–20 | Khimki | 21 | 7 | 16.9 | .438 | .429 | .800 | .6 | 1.1 | .3 | — | 4.6 | 3.1 |
| 2020–21 | 20 | 6 | 17.2 | .344 | .348 | .857 | 1.2 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 5.4 | 2.7 | |
| Career | 123 | 35 | 17.0 | .429 | .441 | .840 | .9 | 1.1 | .4 | .0 | 6.1 | 4.5 | |
Bertāns has been member of the Latvian U-16, U-19 and U-20 national teams, as well as the senior national team. He led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2007U18 European Championship in Madrid, Spain. He has since represented theLatvia national team at theEuroBasket 2011. Furthermore, he was also the leading scorer (14.1 ppg) for Latvia in 2012, when he helped Latvia earn a spot inEuroBasket 2013.
Bertāns was a key player for Latvia duringEuroBasket 2013 where he averaged 10.9 ppg. In his best game of the tournament Bertāns had a 28-point performance against eventual champs France.[26]
He returned forEuroBasket 2015 and2017, helping Latvia get to the quarterfinal round on both occasions.
| Tournament | Games played | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EuroBasket 2011 | 5 | 8.6 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| EuroBasket 2013 | 8 | 10.9 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| EuroBasket 2015 | 9 | 10.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 |
| EuroBasket 2017 | 7 | 11.1 | 3.3 | 5.3 |
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Bertāns' brother,Dāvis, is also a professional basketball player. Their father,Dainis, was a professional basketball player and is currently a youth coach. Their mother is a sports teacher and a former high-level rower. During his childhood, Bertāns was raised in Latvia's northernmost town,Rūjiena, until his parents moved to the capital city,Riga.
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