Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Lithuanian basketball player (born 1975)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuanian: Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; Lithuanian pronunciation: [ʑiːˈdrûːnɐs ɪɫˈɡɐ̂ˑʊ̯skɐs] ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2010 and played for the Miami Heat during the 2010–11 season. He was named to the 1997–98 All-Rookie First Team and is a two-time NBA All-Star.
Ilgauskas played in the 2007 NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers. He is known for his accurate jump shot, for his rebounding, and for overcoming difficult injury challenges during his career. Nicknamed Big Z, Ilgauskas is the Cavaliers' career leader in blocked shots; his jersey no. 11 has been retired by the team. In 2012, Ilgauskas joined the Cavaliers' front office, becoming a special advisor to the organization.
Professional career
Atletas (1993–1996)
Ilgauskas made his professional debut in his birthplace of Kaunas, with local club Atletas in 1993. He averaged 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in the 1994–95 season.
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This entry incorporates text from “Zydrunas Ilgauskas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.