Jānis Kaufmanis (born October 3, 1989) is a Latvian professional basketball player who plays for his hometown team Valmiera Glass ViA.[1] Prior he has played for top tier Latvian teams BK Valmiera, VEF Rīga, BK Ventspils[2] and Kalev/Cramo.[3] Kaufmanis is two time Latvian champion [4] and Estonian champion.
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| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | October 3, 1989 Rīga, Latvia | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Latvian | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2007–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | BK Valmiera | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | VEF Rīga | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | BK Valmiera | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Força Lleida | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Valmiera/Ordo | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Valmiera Glass ViA | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | BK Ventspils | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Kalev/Cramo | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Valmiera Glass ViA | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Ermis Shimatariou | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Sant Antoni | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Valmiera Glass ViA | ||||||||||||||
| 2024-present | Gulbenes Buki | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Professional career
editJānis Kaufmanis started his professional career for his hometown team Valmiera in 2007. In his second season shooting guard suffered knee injury that sidelined player for half of a year.[5] In 2010 Kaufmanis started ascending as one of teams leaders, receiving interest from VEF Rīga which signed a three-year deal with Kaufmanis in 2011.[6] Due to an injury ruined season, Kaufmanis stayed with VEF for only one year before coming back to Valmiera.
In a very successful 2012-2013 campaign Kaufmanis, together with Jānis Bērziņš, forged Latvian League bronze medals for Valmiera.[7] In that time Kaufmanis proved himself as one of the deadliest sharpshooters in Latvian basketball and his isolation move was Valmiera's teams go-to play in low shot clock situations.
In the 2014-2015 season Kaufmanis tried his force abroad, joining Spanish LEB Oro team Força Lleida. After year in Spain basketball player came back to his home towns team Valmiera/Ordo,[8] who in this point due to financial influx was rapidly growing its ambitions in local basketball stage. Spring of 2016 came with a historical triumph for Valmiera basketball, winning Latvian League championship in a seven-game series over VEF Rīga. Kaufmanis was a substantial contributor coming off the bench.
Next two seasons Kaufmanis stayed with Valmiera/Ordo, but due to financial instability team could not repeat its championship conquest. In 2018 Kaufmanis overtook all time leading scorer position in Valmiera basketball history previously held by Sandis Amoliņš.[9] After Valmiera/Ordo bankruptcy Kaufmanis joined Valmiera student basketball team Valmiera Glass ViA which was promoted to newly founded Latvian-Estonian League, where Kaufmanis become second highest scorer in tournaments first season.
In least seasons shooting guard has played for Latvian championships richest team BK Ventspils and Estonian powerhouse Kalev/Cramo.
Latvian National Team
editKaufmanis has played for Latvian U16, U18 and U20 National teams. In 2007, Kaufmanis was a part of the Latvian Under-18 junior national team that won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, which was held in Madrid, Spain.[10] That was first medal for Latvian youth basketball in European championships. Kaufmanis debuted for Latvian national team in 2010.
References
edit- ^ "Kaufmanis atgriežas Valmierā". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Valmieras līderis Kaufmanis pāriet uz Latvijas vicečempioni Ventspili". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Janis Kaufmanis joins Kalev/Cramo". Eurobasket.com. 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Valmiera/Ordo pārraksta vēsturi un iegūst LBL zeltu". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 31 May 2016.
- ^ "Kaufmanim sezona beigusies". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 9 October 2008.
- ^ "VEF Rīga paraksta līgumu ar Kaufmani". Vefriga.com (in Latvian). 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Valmieras basketbolisti izcīna LBL bronzas godalgas". Jauns.lv (in Latvian). 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Kaufmanis no Spānijas atgriežas Valmierā". NRA.lv (in Latvian). 20 July 2015.
- ^ "Valmieras basketbola leģenda Amoliņš atgriezīsies laukumā uz karjeras pēdējo spēli". Diena.lv (in Latvian). 7 February 2020.
- ^ Lithuania 72-74 Latvia FIBA Europe
External links
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