# Rimas Kurtinaitis

Rimas Kurtinaitis (born 15 May 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Lithuania men's national team and Sabah BC. As a player, he was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams and won a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. At a height of 1.96 m (6'5") tall, he played at the shooting guard position. He is the only non-NBA player to ever participate at the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, doing so in 1989, where he scored 9 points.

## Club playing career

Kurtinaitis' former club teams as a player, include Žalgiris Kaunas, CSKA Moscow, and Real Madrid. He was the only European player to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, without ever having played in the NBA by participating in the event in 1989. Kurtinaitis was also the first European player to play as an import, in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), while playing for the Townsville Suns, in 1993.

## Coaching career

In 1997, Kurtinaitis was named to the Lithuanian Ministry of Sport. In the years 2002–2006, he took the position of head coach of the Azerbaijan national basketball team. Also from 2002 to 2006, he was a player for four seasons (till the age of 46!), with Gala Baku, working as a player-coach.
He became Sakalai's head coach during the mid-2000s. In December 2007, he became the head coach of the Polish League men's basketball team, Śląsk Wrocław. In 2008, he became head coach of Lietuvos Rytas, with whom, he won the EuroCup 2008–09 season's title. After winning the championship at the Final-Eight tournament, in Turin (Torino), Italy, in a game against Khimki Moscow Region (final score 80–74).
In 2012, Kurtinaitis won the EuroCup again, this time with Khimki. As of 2015, he is the only coach to win the EuroCup three times. On 21 June 2012 Kurtinaitis was named the best EuroCup coach of all time. On 15 March 2016 Khimki parted ways with Kurtinaitis.
On 2 August 2016 Kurtinaitis become the head coach of Pallacanestro Cantù, of the Italian LBA. However, on 30 November 2016 he was fired from the team.
Kurtinaitis agreed to return to Lietuvos rytas on 10 February 2017, following the resignation of Tomas Pačėsas, from the club's head coaching position. This tenure with Rytas was not as successful – Rytas only finished in 3rd place in the LKL in the 2016–2017 season, a fiasco for the team. In the 2017–2018 season, the team played much better, reaching the Eurocup Top16 phase, as well as reaching the KMT and LKL finals, but lost each to Žalgiris Kaunas. In what stirred a lot of controversy, it was announced during the semifinals of the LKL that Kurtinaitis would be replaced by Dainius Adomaitis in the following season, and in June Kurtinaitis left the team.
On 21 January 2019 Kurtinaitis returned to Khimki in a surprising decision. Two years later, on 15 January 2021, he was dismissed from this position because of unsatisfactory results.
On 26 January 2024 Kurtinaitis became the head coach of Sabah BC of Azerbaijan Basketball League.

### Lithuanian national team

On 1 October 2024, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation announced Kurtinaitis as the new head coach of the senior Lithuanian national team.

## Awards and achievements

As player:

### Pro clubs

* 5× USSR Premier League Champion: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 1987
* USSR Cup Winner: (1982)
* FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer: (1985)
* FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion: 1986
* NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest Participant: 1989
* German League Top Scorer: (1990)
* German All-Star Game Three-point Champion: 1991
* Spanish ACB League Champion: 1994
* 2× Lithuanian All-Star Game: 1996, 1998
* Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP: 1996
* Lithuanian League Champion: 1996
* Lithuanian League Finals MVP: 1996

### Soviet senior national team

* 1985 EuroBasket: Gold
* 1986 FIBA World Championship: Silver
* 1988 Summer Olympic Games: Gold
* 1989 EuroBasket: Bronze

### Lithuanian senior national team

* 1992 Summer Olympic Games: Bronze
* 1995 EuroBasket: Silver
* 1996 Summer Olympic Games: Bronze

### As head coach

* 3× EuroCup Champion: 2009, 2012, 2015
* 2× Lithuanian LKL League Champion: 2009, 2010
* Baltic BBL League Champion: 2009
* 2× Lithuanian Federation Cup Winner: 2009, 2010
* VTB United League Champion: 2011
* Named Best EuroCup Coach of All Time: 2012
* VTB United League Coach of the Year: 2014
* VTB United League Hall of Fame: 2019

## Coaching record

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the team played during the season. He also coached in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

### EuroLeague

| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Result |
| Lietuvos rytas | 2009–10 | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | Eliminated in group stage |
| Khimki | 2012–13 | 24 | 13 | 11 | .542 | Eliminated in TOP 16 stage |
| Khimki | 2015–16 | 20 | 10 | 10 | .500 | Fired |
| Khimki | 2018–19 | 11 | 2 | 9 | .182 | Eliminated in regular season |
| Khimki | 2019–20 | 28 | 13 | 15 | .464 | Season stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Khimki | 2020–21 | 20 | 2 | 18 | .100 | Fired |
| Career | Career | 113 | 44 | 69 | .389 | |