Linas Kleiza (pronounced [ˈlinɐs kleiˈzɐ]; born January 3, 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. He can play either forward position. Kleiza signed a four year, $18.8 million contract in prior to the 2010–11 NBA season.
Kleiza attended the Montrose Christian School and graduated in 2003. He played on the Lithuanian Junior National Team that won the silver medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He led the tournament in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game on 58 percent shooting.
Kleiza was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 27th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. The Trail Blazers then dealt his draft rights, along with Ricky Sanchez to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Jarrett Jack. Kleiza was seldom-used in his rookie season. He averaged 3.5 points and 8.5 minutes per game.
He improved on his three-point shooting in his sophomore year, making 83-221, after only making two three-pointers in his rookie year. He also saw some more time on the court and averaged 7.6 points on 42 percent shooting in 18.8 minutes per game. After the season, Denver picked up their team option on his contract for another season.
Kleiza became a big part of Denver's rotation in the 2007-08 season, mostly backing up Denver's starting small forward Carmelo Anthony. However, he was involved in a lot of trade talks, most notably a trade involving Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings.[3] On January 17, 2008, Kleiza scored a career high 41 points against the Utah Jazz.[4] His scoring average was up to 11.1 points per game and his shooting percentage was up to 47 percent.
On August 10, 2009, Kleiza agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million (€8.6 million euros) gross income contract with the Greek League team Olympiacos Piraeus.[6][7] He averaged 17.2 points per game and grabbed 6.4 rebounds per game. He also won the Alphonso Ford Trophy.On July 7, 2010, Kleiza terminated his contract with Olympiacos. He was signed by the Toronto Raptors to a four-year, $20 million dollar gross income offer sheet.
Kleiza has also played with the senior Lithuanian national basketball team. He played at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and he won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIBA European Championship. He also played with Lithuania at the 2008 Olympics. After a poor performance in Eurobasket 2009, Kleiza led his team to a bronze medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, averaging 19.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 1.4 apg. He was chosen in the All-Tournament team.
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