Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Zydrunas Ilgauskas was born in Kaunas, Kaunas County on June 5th, 1975 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 49, Zydrunas Ilgauskas biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 49 years old, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has this physical status:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (born June 5, 1975) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball center of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1996 to 2010, and is the team's career leader in blocks.
Ilgauskas served with the Miami Heat in 2012-2011, becoming a special advisor for the team.
Personal life
During the summer of 2004, Ilgauskas married Jennifer. Due to pregnancy complications that caused the babies to be born four months premature, the couple lost a pair of twins in 2007. Ilgauskas adopted two Lithuanian brothers (aged five and four at the time) from his hometown of Kaunas in the summer of 2009. Jennifer died on September 11, 2022, on September 13, 2022.
Ilgauskas is a voracious reader. He particularly likes military history. He used to read in the locker room before games often during his playing career.
Ilgauskas became a United States citizen in 2013. He lost his Lithuanian citizenship in the process, while Lithuania limits the possibility of dual citizenship.
Professional career
Ilgauskas made his professional debut in Kaunas, where he grew up, with hometown club Atletas in 1993. In the 1994-1995 season, he averaged 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.
Ilgauskas was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. He agreed to a multi-year deal with the Cavaliers on August 1, 1996. He suffered with a slew of foot and ankle injuries in the early stages of his career. Due to a fractured bone in his right foot, he missed the entire 1996–97 season.
During All-Star Weekend, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Rookie Challenge and was chosen to the All-Rookie First Team in 1997–98. In 1998, he signed a 6-year contract extension that was worth $70.9 million over 6 years. Ilgauskas played in only 5 games in the last two seasons, which was disappointing. He underwent surgery on January 26, 2000, on a fractured navicular bone in his left foot.
In 2000–01, he regained the Cavaliers' starting center position. In December 2000, he was hospitalized once more and was out of the season. The Cavaliers were dealt a blow by the injury. They finished with a 30–52 record after winning 15 out of 23 games with Ilgauskas.
He returned in December 2001 and was mainly used as a back-up to Chris Mihm for the remainder of the season.
In 2002-2003, the Ilgauskas averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. He was selected as an All-Star, but the Cavaliers finished with the third-worst record in team history (17–65) and landed the top draft pick.
In 2003, the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James, a high school legend and future NBA MVP. To create the team's core, James collaborated with Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden. Ilgauskas only played nine games over the next three seasons, and they were selected as an All-Star again in 2005.
Ilgauskas signed a deal extension with the Cavaliers on July 12, 2005. According to reports, the transaction was worth more than $55 million per year for five years.
Ilgauskas was the starting center for the team's first four seasons, having transformed into a contender. They advanced to the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. The Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O'Neal in summer 2009. Ilgauskas replied: "I was just reading the newspaper." That means I'll probably be coming off the bench." Ilgauskas came off the bench in a game against the Phoenix Suns on December 2, 2009, defeating general manager Danny Ferry.
Ilgauskas was traded from the Cavaliers to Washington, Ohio, Germany, and Cleveland's Emir Preldi if you recall. The Wizards ripped him out of his deal on February 25, 2010, making him a free agent. Ilgauskas were unable to participate in any Wizards games. Ilgauskas had a chance to return to the Cavaliers, but only after a 30-day waiting period was enforced for players who had been sold from their former teams after being pushed out of their deal by their new team. He was still free to sign with any other team.
Ilgauskas and the Cleveland Cavaliers announced on March 23, 2010, they would have a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. In a victory over the New Orleans Hornets a day later, he returned a day later. Ilgauskas' home game against the Sacramento Kings, his first home game with the team, was met with ovations and applause from the crowd. The Quicken Loan Arena was affectionately renamed "The Z" for the day in honor of the Lithuanians.
The 2010 NBA playoffs marked the first time in Ilgauskas' career in which he was not a key player in the Cavaliers' rotation. Ilgauskas saw only 69 minutes of floor time in the entire postseason, resulting in averages of 1.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG, much less than his career playoff performances. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had Ilgauskas' number 11 withdrawn on March 8, 2014. At the time, he was only the third European to be honoured by an NBA team after Draen Petrovi and Vlade Divac.
Ilgauskas signed with the Miami Heat on July 17, 2010. Chris Bosh's and long-time colleague LeBron James' signings inspired Ilgauskas' decision to join the Heat. The fans applauded Ilgauskas in pre-game introductions on December 2, while booing the remainder of the starters, including James. The Heat made it to the 2011 NBA Finals, but they fell short of the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
Ilgauskas declared in September 2011 that he was retiring from basketball after spending more time with his family, as well as citing long-term physical exhaustion and basic bodily wear and tear.
National team career
Ilgauskas made his appearance with the Lithuania national team in 1994, when the team was competing for a spot in the EuroBasket 1995. He had 7.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. He returned to compete for the Lithuania national team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the Cavaliers refused to allow him to play due to his injury history.
Coaching career
Ilgauskas joined Saint Ignatius High School as the assistant coach for the boys' team on September 18, 2015.