Turkish Airlines EuroLeague rookie Ignas Brazdeikis sits down with Joe Arlauckas to discuss his career to this point, why he joined Zalgiris Kaunas and his thoughts on being back in Kaunas, Lithuania, the place of his birth, among many other topics.
The latest episode of The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas features a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague rookie who has been making waves with Zalgiris Kaunas: Ignas Brazdeikis. After spending the first few years of his professional career in the NBA, Brazdeikis decided to return to the city and country of his birth – Kaunas, Lithuania – to play for Zalgiris.
After leaving Kaunas for Chicago, United States, at the age of three before later growing up in Canada, Brazdeikis has come full circle in every sense of the word. First, he returned to the U.S. to play for the University of Michigan and then feature in the NBA with New York, Philadelphia and Orlando, before heading to Lithuania last summer to join Zalgiris as he went in search of a more defined role on the court.
Even though Brazdeikis's father hated basketball, the 24-year-old developed a love for the game that has only been enhanced during his time representing Zalgiris and suiting up for the Lithuanian national team.
"I fell in love with the game at probably 6-7 years old," explains Brazdeikis. "Outside of our apartment [in Canada], there was an outdoor basketball court and I would just spend hours a day there just playing, and there would be older guys there. Then, once my pops saw that I had a passion for the game, he put me in this Lithuanian church team and everything grew from there."
Brazdeikis went on to play a total of 64 games in the NBA across three seasons, in which he suited up for New York, Philadelphia and Orlando, but it was not always a straightforward journey. Following a turbulent first three years of his career, he took the decision last summer to return to Kaunas and play for Zalgiris in the EuroLeague.