The Most Famous

BASKETBALL PLAYERS from Latvia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Latvian Basketball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,757 Basketball Players, 15 of which were born in Latvia. This makes Latvia the birth place of the 16th most number of Basketball Players behind Italy, and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Latvian Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous Latvian Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Latvian Basketball Players.

Photo of Cēzars Ozers

1. Cēzars Ozers (1937 - 2023)

With an HPI of 53.02, Cēzars Ozers is the most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Cēzars Ozers (11 February 1937 – 5 November 2023), also known as Tsezar Eduardovich Ozers (Russian: Цезар Эдуардович Озерс), was a Soviet and Latvian basketball player. He played as a point guard. Ozers won a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He died on 5 November 2023, at the age of 86.

Photo of Jānis Krūmiņš

2. Jānis Krūmiņš (1930 - 1994)

With an HPI of 50.41, Jānis Krūmiņš is the 2nd most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Jānis Krūmiņš (30 January 1930 – 20 November 1994) was a Soviet-Latvian professional basketball player. Helped by his height (about 220 cm, or 7'3"), he was the first giant center that dominated under European baskets, for years. As a player of the senior Soviet Union national basketball team, Krūmiņš won 3 gold medals at the 1959, 1961, and 1963 EuroBaskets, as well as 3 silver medals at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Summer Olympic Games. A Russian poll that was conducted in 2006, named Krūmiņš as the 3rd most popular Soviet men's basketball player of all time, after Arvydas Sabonis and Vladimir Tkachenko.

Photo of Maigonis Valdmanis

3. Maigonis Valdmanis (1933 - 1999)

With an HPI of 47.01, Maigonis Valdmanis is the 3rd most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Maigonis Valdmanis (September 8, 1933 – October 30, 1999) was a Soviet and Latvian basketball player and coach. He was born in Riga. He played for Rīgas ASK and won three Euroleague titles (1958, 1959, 1960) and four Soviet national league championships (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958). Playing for the USSR national basketball team Maigonis Valdmanis won three gold medals at EuroBasket 1957, EuroBasket 1959, EuroBasket 1961, and silver medals at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games.

Photo of Valdis Muižnieks

4. Valdis Muižnieks (1935 - 2013)

With an HPI of 44.54, Valdis Muižnieks is the 4th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Valdis Muižnieks (February 22, 1935 – November 29, 2013) was a Latvian basketball player. Muižnieks was born in Riga. He played for Rīgas ASK and won 3 Euroleague titles (1958, 1959, 1960) and 4 Soviet national championships (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958). Honoured Master of Sport of the USSR (1959). Playing for Soviet national team, Muižnieks won 3 gold medals at Eurobasket 1957, Eurobasket 1959, Eurobasket 1961, and 3 silver medals at the Olympic Games (1956, 1960, 1964).

Photo of Valdis Valters

5. Valdis Valters (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 44.54, Valdis Valters is the 5th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Valdis Valters (born 4 August 1957) is a retired Latvian professional basketball player. He played at the point guard position for the senior USSR national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players to have played the game in Europe in the 1980s. Considering his lengthy work and deep connection to the sport, Valters has been one of the most influential people in Latvian basketball history. He became a FIBA Hall of Fame player in 2017.

Photo of Ainars Bagatskis

6. Ainars Bagatskis (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 41.43, Ainars Bagatskis is the 6th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ainars Bagatskis (born 29 March 1967) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and coach, who currently works as the head coach of CSO Voluntari of the Liga Națională.

Photo of Igors Miglinieks

7. Igors Miglinieks (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 39.46, Igors Miglinieks is the 7th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Igors Miglinieks (born 4 May 1964) is a retired Soviet and Latvian professional basketball player and coach. He played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Photo of Kristaps Porziņģis

8. Kristaps Porziņģis (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 37.45, Kristaps Porziņģis is the 8th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvian pronunciation: [ˈkris.taps ˈpuɔr.ziɲ.ɟis]; born 2 August 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Unicorn", he is listed at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) and plays as a power forward and center. Born in Liepāja, Porziņģis began his professional career with Sevilla in 2012. Porziņģis quickly rose through the team's youth ranks and became the figurehead of the senior team by 2013. He subsequently won the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star award in 2015, where, at age 19, Porziņģis became the youngest ever recipient of the award. The following summer, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected fourth overall by the New York Knicks. In New York, Porziņģis was seen as one of the Knicks' potential cornerstones, and he was selected as an All-Star in 2018. However, disagreements with the front office led Porziņģis to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. In Dallas, he was plagued by injuries and inconsistent play and was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2022. In Washington, Porziņģis bounced back, but was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2023 as part of the Wizards' front office's desire to rebuild. With the Celtics, he won the 2024 NBA Finals.

Photo of Kaspars Kambala

9. Kaspars Kambala (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 37.02, Kaspars Kambala is the 9th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Kaspars Kambala (born 13 December 1978) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and a former professional boxer. Standing at 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), he plays at the position of forward-center.

Photo of Dāvis Bertāns

10. Dāvis Bertāns (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 36.16, Dāvis Bertāns is the 10th most famous Latvian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Dubai BC of the ABA League. Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 42nd pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers.

People

Pantheon has 21 people classified as Latvian basketball players born between 1930 and 1998. Of these 21, 16 (76.19%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Latvian basketball players include Valdis Valters, Ainars Bagatskis, and Igors Miglinieks. The most famous deceased Latvian basketball players include Cēzars Ozers, Jānis Krūmiņš, and Maigonis Valdmanis. As of April 2024, 8 new Latvian basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Cēzars Ozers, Valdis Muižnieks, and Ainars Bagatskis.

Living Latvian Basketball Players

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Deceased Latvian Basketball Players

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Newly Added Latvian Basketball Players (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Basketball Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Basketball Players since 1700.