The 2021–22 Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also called Betsafe-LKL for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the top-tier level professional basketball league of Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). Žalgiris was defending champions.

Betsafe-LKL
Season2021–22
Duration18 September 2021 – 28 April 2022
(Regular season)
1 May 2022 – 12 June 2022 (Playoffs)
Games played198
Teams11
Regular season
Season MVPCroatia Ivan Buva
Finals
ChampionsRytas (6th title)
  Runners-upLietkabelis
Third placeŽalgiris
Fourth placeŠiauliai–7bet
Finals MVPLithuania Arnas Butkevičius
Statistical leaders
Points United States Patrick Miller 17.93
Rebounds Senegal Amar Sylla 7.62
Assists Lithuania Žygimantas Janavičius 6.84
Index Rating Croatia Ivan Buva 18.41
Records
Biggest home winRytas 108–68 Nevėžis–OPTIBET
(13 February 2022)
Biggest away winŠiauliai–7bet 64–97 Žalgiris
(17 October 2021)
Highest scoringPieno žvaigždės 106–102 Labas Gas
(27 March 2022)
Winning streak14 games
Žalgiris
Losing streak11 games
Labas Gas
Highest attendance9,006
Rytas 67–72 Žalgiris
(23 January 2022)
Lowest attendance130
Labas Gas 63–73 Neptūnas
(7 February 2022)
Average attendance1,239 per match
Seasons

For the first time since league's inception, Žalgiris failed to reach finals, after losing semifinal series to Lietkabelis 3–1[1]

Rytas after 12 years break won Betsafe–LKL championship and achieved their 6th title overall.[2]

Teams

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Location and arenas

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On 27 April 2021, during 2020–21 LKL season LKL board decided to expand the number of participating teams in tournament. The number of teams has been expanded to 11 teams. 2020-21 NKL season champions Cbet Jonava will join the other 10 LKL teams.[3]

Team Location Arena Capacity
Cbet Jonava Jonava Jonava Arena 2,200
Dzūkija Alytus Alytus Arena 5,500
Labas Gas Prienai Prienai Arena 1,500
Lietkabelis Panevėžys Cido Arena 5,950
Neptūnas Klaipėda Švyturys Arena 6,200
Nevėžis-OPTIBET Kėdainiai Kėdainiai Arena 2,200
Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys Pieno žvaigždės Arena 1,500
Rytas Vilnius Jeep Arena 2,500
Avia Solutions Group Arena 10,000
Šiauliai-7bet Šiauliai Šiauliai Arena 5,700
Uniclub Casino – Juventus Utena Utena Arena 2,000
Žalgiris Kaunas Žalgiris Arena 15,415

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced with Date of appointment
Nevėžis–OPTIBET   Marius Kiltinavičius Signed by Sūduva-Mantinga 21 June 2021[4] Pre-season   Gediminas Petrauskas 21 June 2021[5]
Pieno žvaigždės   Gediminas Petrauskas Signed by Nevėžis–OPTIBET 21 June 2021[6]   Mantas Šernius 22 June 2021[7]
Labas Gas   Mantas Šernius Signed by Pieno žvaigždės 22 June 2021[8]   Marius Leonavičius 16 August 2021[9]
Dzūkija   Nikola Vasilev Mutual consent 15 August 2021   Ramūnas Cvirka 15 August 2021[10]
Žalgiris   Martin Schiller Sacked 08 October 2021[11] 1st (4–0)   Jure Zdovc 08 October 2021[12]
Neptūnas   Tomas Gaidamavičius Mutual consent 11 December 2021[13] 9th (2–7)   Dainius Adomaitis 18 December 2021[14]
Uniclub Casino – Juventus   Žydrūnas Urbonas Resigned 30 March 2022[15] 6th (11–12)
Žalgiris   Jure Zdovc Mutual consent 11 April 2022[16] 2nd (22–3)   Kazys Maksvytis 11 April 2022[17]

Regular season

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Qualification or relegation
1 Rytas 30 26 4 2685 2257 428 Advance to playoffs
2 Žalgiris 30 26 4 2578 2247 331
3 Lietkabelis 30 23 7 2522 2233 289
4 Cbet Jonava 30 16 14 2373 2451 −78
5 Šiauliai–7bet 30 15 15 2459 2464 −5
6 Uniclub Casino – Juventus 30 15 15 2526 2485 41
7 Neptūnas 30 14 16 2332 2390 −58
8 Dzūkija 30 11 19 2291 2427 −136
9 Pieno žvaigždės 30 9 21 2423 2615 −192
10 Nevėžis-OPTIBET 30 7 23 2349 2635 −286
11 Labas GAS 30 3 27 2310 2644 −334
Source: LKL.lT


Results

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Home \ Away CBE DZU GAS LTK NEP NEV PIE RYT SIA JUV ZAL CBE DZU GAS LTK NEP NEV PIE RYT SIA JUV ZAL
Cbet Jonava 85–63 93–77 74–66 64–89 88–76 77–69 79–94 58–69 86–80 80–86 100–84 91–82 67–91 62–79 65–71 100–97
Dzūkija 86–62 72–69 65–76 67–79 81–66 92–86 61–88 75–66 83–80 100–105 73–81 86–90 64–65 93–76 63–74
Labas GAS 68–81 70–77 65–92 62–87 93–102 79–87 68–82 88–109 80–74 78–81 62–72 63–73 86–97 88–81 71–88
Lietkabelis 88–69 94–63 87–69 83–62 60–67 88–70 83–80 87–76 92–89 69–73 103–71 82–73 82–87 86–90 71–66 85–67
Neptūnas 75–87 70–85 88–82 53–81 94–87 75–71 81–89 86–94 79–88 60–77 75–78 73–83 95–61 91–95 93–88 57–77
Nevėžis–OPTIBET 95–100 83–78 90–80 77–78 83–88 73–79 68–100 66–79 73–75 69–77 88–92 60–85 85–92 85–109 93–83 64–72
Pieno žvaigždės 76–80 75–81 78–81 97–107 69–82 87–88 66–76 108–90 76–90 69–85 101–78 106–102 67–89 92–84 83–102
Rytas 76–60 81–65 106–77 85–71 97–76 108–73 91–75 79–76 89–111 67–72 88–68 86–70 99–66 101–68 82–74 87–74
Šiauliai-7bet 93–87 97–85 86–80 74–97 75–77 91–77 84–62 77–89 80–66 64–97 84–83 96–93 84–87 91–94 86–89
Uniclub Casino – Juventus 89–86 101–84 88–75 75–92 76–64 94–77 94–82 92–103 70–79 71–78 95–78 93–94 82–79 96–73 76–84
Žalgiris 93–70 78–70 103–77 84–70 98–79 102–77 99–70 75–84 90–74 101–77
Source: LKL.LT
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Playoffs

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Quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in a best–of–five games format, while the finals and third place in a best–of–seven format.

Bracket

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
 
                            
 
 
 
 
Rytas76738792
 
 
 
Dzūkija63805966
 
Rytas97729487
 
 
 
Šiauliai–7bet75847977
 
Cbet Jonava82667065
 
 
 
Šiauliai–7bet79887279
 
Rytas68 88 85 78 79
 
 
 
Lietkabelis7766637776
 
Žalgiris9268877889
 
 
 
Neptūnas8870718760
 
Žalgiris71556975
 
 
 
Lietkabelis70797386Third place
 
Lietkabelis1029592
 
 
 
Uniclub Casino — Juventus1017387
 
Žalgiris92908589
 
 
Šiauliai–7bet75857076
 

Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L Qualification or relegation
1 Rytas (C) 43 36 7 Qualification to Champions League regular season
2 Lietkabelis 42 30 12 Qualification to EuroCup
3 Žalgiris 43 34 9 Already qualified to EuroLeague
4 Šiauliai–7bet 42 19 23 Qualification to Champions League qualifying rounds
5 Cbet Jonava 34 17 17
6 Uniclub Casino – Juventus 33 15 18
7 Neptūnas 35 16 19
8 Dzūkija 34 12 22
9 Pieno žvaigždės 30 9 21
10 Nevėžis-OPTIBET 30 7 23
11 Labas GAS 30 3 27
Source: LKL.lT
(C) Champions

Attendance

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Average attendances

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Pos Team Total High Low Average
1 Žalgiris 39,091 5,603 1,000 2,299
2 Rytas 49,141 9,006 806 2,137
3 Šiauliai–7bet 44,412 4,867 720 2,115
4 Lietkabelis 42,048 6,480 510 1,911
5 Neptūnas 17,228 2,578 355 957
6 Uniclub Casino – Juventus 14,131 1,957 378 883
7 Cbet Jonava 14,098 1,700 382 783
8 Nevėžis-OPTIBET 8,810 1,322 305 551
9 Dzūkija 6,310 780 180 371
10 Pieno žvaigždės 5,180 1,000 150 345
11 Labas GAS 4,733 1,100 130 316
League total 245,182 9,006 130 1,239

Source: LKL.LT


Awards

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All official awards of the 2021-22 LKL season.

Pos. Player Team Source
C   Ivan Buva Rytas [18]

LKL Finals MVP

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Pos. Player Team Source
SF\PF   Arnas Butkevičius Rytas [19]

All-LKL Team

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Player Team Source
  Lukas Lekavičius Žalgiris [19]
  Jon Elmore Šiauliai-7bet
  Arnas Butkevičius Rytas
  Gediminas Orelik Lietkabelis
  Ivan Buva Rytas

Coach of the Year

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Player Team Source
  Giedrius Žibėnas Rytas [19]

Best Defender

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Player Team Source
  Vytenis Lipkevičius Lietkabelis [19]

Breakthrough of the Year

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Player Team Source
  Panagiotis Kalaitzakis Lietkabelis [19]

Player of the month

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Month Player Team PIR Source
2021
September   Jon Elmore Šiauliai–7bet 19.7 [20]
October   Patrick Miller Uniclub Casino – Juventus 28 [21]
November   Giedrius Staniulis Šiauliai-7bet 26 [22]
December   Đorđe Gagić Lietkabelis 26.3 [23]
2022
January   Manu Lecomte Cbet Jonava 28 [24]
February   Manu Lecomte Cbet Jonava 32.5 [25]
March   Ivan Buva Rytas 21 [26]
April   Juan Palacios Cbet Jonava 27.6 [27]

Statistics

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Individual statistics

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Rating

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Rank Name Team Games Rating PIR
1.   Ivan Buva Rytas 34 626 18.41
2.   Patrick Miller Uniclub Casino – Juventus 29 531 18.31
3.   Amar Sylla Nevėžis–OPTIBET 29 498 17.17

Source: LKL.LT

Points

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Rank Name Team Games Points PPG
1.   Patrick Miller Uniclub Casino – Juventus 29 520 17.93
2.   Ivan Buva Rytas 34 560 16.47
3.   Deividas Gailius Neptūnas 31 500 16.13

Source: LKL.LT

Rebounds

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Rank Name Team Games Rebounds RPG
1.   Amar Sylla Nevėžis-OPTIBET 29 221 7.62
2.   Juan Palacios Cbet Jonava 24 182 7.58
3.   Benas Griciūnas Neptūnas 34 229 6.74

Source: LKL.LT

Assists

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Rank Name Team Games Assists APG
1.   Žygimantas Janavičius Neptūnas 32 219 6.84
2.   Speedy Smith Rytas 40 229 5.73
3.   Jon Elmore Šiauliai–7bet 30 165 5.50

Source: LKL.LT

Other statistics

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Category Player Team Games Average
Steals   Randy Culpepper Pieno žvaigždės 18 2.50
Blocks   Amar Sylla Nevėžis–OPTIBET 29 2.17
Turnovers   Ignas Sargiūnas Labas Gas 30 2.87
Fouls drawn   Patrick Miller Uniclub Casino – Juventus 29 5.24
Minutes   Arnas Beručka Pieno žvaigždės 31 33:23
FT %   Mindaugas Girdžiūnas Rytas 24 90.24%
2-Point %   Edgaras Želionis Neptūnas 32 71.32%
3-Point %   Lukas Lekavičius Žalgiris 36 47.46%

Source: LKL.LT

Individual game highs

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Category Player Team Opponent Statistic
Rating   Ivan Buva Rytas Cbet Jonava (Jan 13, 2022) 49
Points   Juan Palacios Cbet Jonava Labas Gas (Apr 27, 2022) 36
Rebounds   Juan Palacios Cbet Jonava Šiauliai–7bet (Mar 6, 2022) 18
Assists   Vaidas Kariniauskas Rytas Nevėžis–OPTIBET (Feb 13, 2022) 15
Steals   Markell Johnson Pieno žvaigždės Nevėžis–OPTIBET (Nov 20, 2021) 6
  Randy Culpepper Pieno žvaigždės Labas Gas (Mar 27, 2022)
  Juan Palacios Cbet Jonava Šiauliai–7bet (May 6, 2022)
Blocks   Amar Sylla Nevėžis–OPTIBET Žalgiris (Apr 14, 2022) 6

Source: LKL.LT

Team statistics

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Speedy Smith during Game 5 of the 2022 LKL Finals
Category Team Average
Rating Rytas 102.58
Points Rytas 87.47
Rebounds Neptūnas 36.63
Assists Žalgiris 20.96
Steals Lietkabelis 8.49
Blocks Labas Gas 3.55
Turnovers Neptūnas 15.77
FT % Žalgiris 79.09%
2-Point % Neptūnas 57.52%
3-Point % Žalgiris 39.36%

Source: LKL.LT

Lithuanian clubs in European competitions

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Team Competition Progress
Žalgiris EuroLeague Regular Season
Lietkabelis EuroCup Eighthfinals
Rytas Champions League Round of 16
Juventus Qualifying rounds

References

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  1. ^ "Lietkabelis makes history, forces Zalgiris to the first semifinal elimination ever". en.lkl.lt. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Šventė sostinėje: dramatišką mūšį laimėjęs "Rytas" – "Betsafe-LKL" čempionas". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  3. ^ "LKL valdyba nubalsavo – kitą sezoną čempionate rungtyniaus 11 komandų". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ "M.Kiltinavičius grįžta į puikiai pažįstamą klubą". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 12 July 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  5. ^ "G. Petrauskas tapo Kėdainių ekipos vyr. treneriu". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 21 June 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ^ "G. Petrauskas tapo Kėdainių ekipos vyr. treneriu". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 21 June 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Geriausiu treneriu pripažintas M. Šernius grįžta į Pasvalį". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Geriausiu treneriu pripažintas M. Šernius grįžta į Pasvalį". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Prienų ekipai diriguos M. Leonavičius". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  10. ^ "R.Cvirka stojo prie "Dzūkijos" vairo". krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). 15 August 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Zalgiris parts ways with Coach Schiller". zalgiris.lt. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Zalgiris parts ways with Coach Schiller". zalgiris.lt. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  13. ^ ""Neptūnas" atsisveikino su T. Gaidamavičiumi". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Oficialu: į Klaipėdą sugrįžta D. Adomaitis". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Ž.Urbonas palieka komandos vyr. trenerio postą". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 30 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Oficialu: "Žalgirio" trenerių štabe K.Maksvytis keičia J.Zdovcą". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 11 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Oficialu: "Žalgirio" trenerių štabe K.Maksvytis keičia J.Zdovcą". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 11 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Regular season MVP statuette travels to Vilnius". en.lkl.lt. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Išdalinti "Betsafe-LKL" apdovanojimai: finalo serijos MVP tapo A. Butkevičius, metų treneris – G. Žibėnas". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 13 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Rugsėjo MVP tapęs šiauliečių vedlys J. Elmore'as: "Kažkada noriu žaisti Eurolygoje arba NBA"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 2 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Spalio MVP P. Milleris prisiminė mačą su "Rytu": "Jie nesvarstė manęs vasarą – tai tapo papildoma motyvacija"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Mėnesio MVP tapęs G. Staniulis: "Turi atsidurti reikiamu laiku, reikiamoje vietoje"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 2 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Gruodžio MVP tapęs Dž. Gagičius: "Noriu laimėti trofėjų"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Sausio MVP laurus nuskynęs E. Lecomte'as apie V. Šeškų: "Jis vienintelis toks"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Emmanuel Lecomte – MVP of February". en.lkl.lt. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  26. ^ "I. Buva: "Jei tai būtų mano sprendimas, likčiau komandoje dar bent kelis sezonus"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  27. ^ "Balandžio MVP laurus nuskynęs J. Palaciosas kabinti sportbačių ant vinies neketina: "Jaučiuosi nuostabiai"". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 29 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.