Saras Jasikevicius

Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius ([ʃɐˈrûːnɐs jɛsʲɪˈkʲæːvʲɪtɕʊs] ; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing at a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played at the point guard position. Often considered one of the best Lithuanian and European point guards ever, Jasikevičius was a two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection, the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2005 and a four-time triple crown winner. He was named the 2005 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. Moreover, he was the first player in EuroLeague history to win the competition with three clubs. A former representative of the senior Lithuanian men's national team, he won the gold medal at 2003 EuroBasket, earning an All-EuroBasket Team selection and MVP honors in the process. He also won the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, and the bronze medal at 2007 EuroBasket. In 2015, Jasikevičius was named a EuroLeague Basketball Legend as a reward for his playing career and was honored with a ceremony. He has won both Liga ACB and Spanish Cup with Barcelona as both a coach and player, as well as both Turkish Basketball League and Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe in same capacities. He also won the Euroleague title as Fenerbahçe coach in 2025. Additionally, he achieved victory in the Lithuanian League with Zalgiris, also as both coach and player.

Early years Jasikevičius was born into a family of athletes. His mother Rita, a famous Lithuanian handball player, won a silver medal with the Soviet Union women's national handball team during the 1975 World Women's Handball Championship. Following the success in the world championship, Rita was prepa

Žalgiris (2014–2020)

On 29 July 2014, Jasikevičius announced his retirement from playing basketball, and was appointed to an assistant coach position with Žalgiris. After the firing of head coach Gintaras Krapikas during the 2015–16 season, Jasikevičius became the team's interim head coach. On 13 January 2016, it was announced that he was appointed their new head coach.
Over the next few years, Jasikevičius took over an underachieving team that almost always failed on the bigger stage, and turned it into a EuroLeague playoff contender. On 22 January 2016, he got his first EuroLeague victory as a head coach, when Žalgiris shockingly crushed the previous season's runners-up, Olympiacos, by a score of 75–55, at Žalgiris Arena. On 26 October 2016, just before the first game versus his former long-time head coach Željko Obradović, Željko said: "I knew that he will be a good coach and in the future - one of the best in Europe". On 13 June 2017, he was named best coach of the 2016–17 LKL season. After the season, San Antonio Spurs and U.S. national team head coach Gregg Popovich invited him to join his coaching staff during the 2017 NBA Summer League. However, Jasikevičius declined, due to previous summer commitments. Jasikevičius also took third place in voting for the 2017 Alexander Gomelsky EuroLeague Coach of the Year award, as Žalgiris finished with a 14-16 record, two games away from the EuroLeague playoffs, while projected to finish last.
During the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, Jasikevičius and his Žalgiris beat expectations by ending in sixth place in the regular season, with an 18-12 record. On 26 April 2018, Žalgiris qualified for the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four by beating Olympiacos in game 4 to clinch a 3–1 series win. It was achieved by having a second lowest budget in the whole league. During the semi-final, Žalgiris played Fenerbahçe, unfortunately losing 76–67. Two days later they faced CSKA Moscow in the bronze medal game, winning that game 77–79 and finishing third for the season. On 20 June 2018, he was named best coach of the 2017–18 LKL season after coaching Žalgiris to yet another Lithuanian League title. On 27 June, Jasikevičius signed one-season contract with Žalgiris. In the 2018-19 season, Žalgiris once again made the EuroLeague playoffs, with a 15-15 record - giving a tough fight against Fenerbahçe, who won the series 3-1. He was named as a LKL Coach of the Year for the third straight time in 2019, with Žalgiris easily winning the LKL championship.
According to Euroleague statistics, Jasikevičius team's defensive rating was 97,0 during the 2019/20 season. Jasikevičius team's offensive rating was 100,7. The tight offensive system by Jasikevičius led to only 15,6 turnovers per game in his last season. Under Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Žalgiris was the third slowest team with 80 possessions per game. This can be explained by mentioning the depth of Jasikevičius playbook, which had more than 40 different plays prepared. Jasikevičius finished his last year with Žalgiris with another LKL championship, along with the King Mindaugas Cup title - Žalgiris also in playoff contention in the EuroLeague, before the season was stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barcelona (2020–2023)

On 2 July 2020, he signed a two-year contract with FC Barcelona. During his first season as a head coach of FC Barcelona, the club won the 2020–21 EuroLeague Regular Season.
On 26 June 2023, in a surprising move, Jasikevičius parted ways with the Catalan powerhouse after three seasons, despite having won the 2023 Liga ACB championship a few days before. He won two Spanish League (2021, 2023), two Spanish Cup (2021, 2022) and two Catalan League (2022, 2023) with the team, and joined three times to EuroLeague Final Four (2021, 2022, 2023).
After Jasikevičius departure the FC Barcelona Bàsquet did not win any trophies in the next three seasons, which is the worst streak for the FC Barcelona Bàsquet in 49 years (since 1976–1977 s