Latvian NBA Players: The Complete Guide to Their Careers and Achievements
I remember the first time I saw Kristaps Porziņģis play - this lanky seven-foot-three kid from Latvia who moved with the grace of a guard rather than the lumbering big men I was used to watching. The moment he stepped onto the Madison Square Garden court for his first NBA game back in 2015, you could feel something special was happening. "This is a huge step," his coach at the time, David Blatt, might as well have said about Porziņģis' entire journey, echoing what many felt watching this European phenomenon reshape what we thought possible for international players.
Latvia's relationship with basketball runs deeper than most people realize, and Porziņģis wasn't actually the first Latvian to make it to the NBA. That honor belongs to Andris Biedriņš, who played nine seasons with the Golden State Warriors from 2004 to 2013. Biedriņš was a different kind of player - more of a traditional center who excelled at rebounding and defense. I always found it fascinating how he averaged a double-double in the 2008-09 season with exactly 11.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, numbers that still impress me when I look them up. He set the stage for what was to come, proving that players from this small Baltic nation could compete at basketball's highest level.
But let's be honest - Porziņģis changed everything. When the New York Knicks selected him fourth overall in the 2015 draft, the reaction was... mixed, to put it mildly. I recall watching the draft that night and hearing the boos from Knicks fans who couldn't understand why their team was picking another European project. But those doubts faded pretty quickly once the season started. Porziņģis put up 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in his rookie year while blocking 1.9 shots per game - numbers that earned him All-Rookie First Team honors and made everyone who doubted him eat their words.
What makes Porziņģis so special, in my view, is how he transformed the power forward position. At his height, he shouldn't be able to shoot three-pointers as smoothly as he does - he's made over 500 in his career at about 36% accuracy, which is remarkable for someone his size. I've watched countless games where opposing coaches just throw their hands up in frustration because there's no real blueprint for defending someone who can post up like a traditional big man but also step out and hit threes like a guard. His career-high 40-point game against the Pacers in 2017 was a masterclass in modern basketball - he was hitting from everywhere on the court, and you could see the defense had no answer for his unique skill set.
The journey hasn't been without challenges though. That torn ACL in 2018 was devastating - I remember thinking it might derail his career just as he was becoming a superstar. But his comeback story has been equally impressive. After missing the entire 2018-19 season, he returned with Dallas and then found his way to Washington, where he's been putting up career-best numbers. Last season, he averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds - proving that he's not just back, but possibly better than ever.
What many people don't realize is that Porziņģis isn't alone in representing Latvia in the NBA anymore. Dāvis Bertāns joined him in the league, and I have to say, Bertāns might be one of the purest shooters I've ever watched. The guy shot 43.4% from three-point range during the 2019-20 season with Washington - that's just insane efficiency. Watching him come off screens and launch threes is a thing of beauty, even if his defense isn't exactly elite. There's something about Latvian shooters - they have this fundamentally sound form that just looks repeatable and reliable.
The most recent addition to the Latvian NBA family is Rodions Kurucs, who played for Brooklyn and Houston from 2018 to 2021. While his NBA journey has been more up and down, he showed flashes of being a solid rotation player, particularly during his rookie year when he started 46 games for a playoff-bound Nets team. I always thought he brought an energy and versatility that could have developed into something special with more consistent minutes.
When you step back and look at what these players have accomplished, it's pretty remarkable for a country with fewer than 2 million people. To put that in perspective, that's smaller than most major US cities, yet they've produced multiple NBA players who've made significant impacts. I've followed international basketball for years, and Latvia's development system deserves more credit than it gets. They're producing skilled, intelligent players who understand team basketball - qualities that translate well to the NBA game.
The future looks bright too. I was watching the FIBA European qualifiers recently, and there are several young Latvian players who could potentially follow in Porziņģis' footsteps. The infrastructure and passion for basketball in Latvia seems to be growing exponentially, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see another Latvian NBA player within the next couple of years.
Thinking about the journey from Biedriņš to Porziņģis to the next generation, it's clear that Latvian basketball has come incredibly far in a relatively short time. Each player has carved out their own unique path and left their mark on the league in different ways. As someone who's watched this evolution unfold, I find it genuinely exciting to see how this small nation continues to punch above its weight in the basketball world. The foundation has been laid, the barriers have been broken, and honestly, I can't wait to see what comes next for Latvian basketball.
