# Artūrs Žagars

Artūrs Mārtiņš Žagars (born 21 April 2000) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish BSL and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in), he primarily plays at the point guard position.

## Professional career
### Early career

Žagars spent much of his early career playing for Latvian club BS DSN Riga.

### Joventut Badalona

In 2017, Žagars signed a long-term contract with Spanish club Joventut Badalona. On 11 March 2018, Žagars made his Liga ACB debut, scoring two points in seven minutes versus Baskonia.
In November 2018, Žagars suffered a torn ligament in his ankle and was sidelined until early March 2019 after undergoing surgery.
On 19 April 2019, Žagars declared for the 2019 NBA draft.

#### Loan Period from Joventut Badalona

On 16 February 2021, Žagars was loaned to Estonian powerhouse Kalev/Cramo.
On 12 January 2022, he was loaned to Löwen Braunschweig of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.7 assists, 1.2 rebounds in 13 domestic league matches.
On 20 July 2022, Žagars signed with Nevėžis Kėdainiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). In 22 league matches, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.

### Fenerbahçe Beko

On 18 September 2023, Žagars signed a three-year contract with Turkish giants Fenerbahçe. He was subsequently loaned to Lithuanian club BC Wolves for the 2023–24 season. On 14 October 2023, in a Lietuvos krepšinio lyga match against Lietkabelis, Žagars suffered a severe injury to the lateral ligament of his knee, missing 6 months.
On 4 October 2024, he made his EuroLeague debut against Olympiacos in a 82-71 victory in Ülker Sports Arena.

## National team career

Žagars was named to the All-Star Five of the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Riga after averaging 18.9 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, while leading the Latvian national under-18 team to its first finals appearance and silver medal at the tournament.
Žagars represented Latvia during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup which achieved 5th place during its debut. Moreover, Žagars achieved the world cup's all-time record of assists by dishing out 17 assists in a game versus Lithuania. In recognition of his individual play, Žagars was named to the All-FIBA World Cup Second Team.

## Career statistics
### EuroLeague

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
| 2024–25 | Fenerbahçe Beko | 16 | 10 | 16:25 | .423 | .314 | .698 | 1.2 | 2.7 | .4 | .1 | 6.2 | 6.3 |
| Career | Career | 16 | 10 | 16:25 | .423 | .314 | .698 | 1.2 | 2.7 | .4 | .1 | 6.2 | 6.3 |
Current season information is written in italics.

### EuroCup

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
| 2019–20 | Joventut Badalona | 10 | 3 | 10.4 | .385 | .333 | .750 | .7 | 1.8 | .5 | .0 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 2020–21 | Joventut Badalona | 7 | 0 | 4.6 | .222 | .200 | .667 | .1 | .6 | .1 | .0 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
| 2021–22 | Joventut Badalona | 3 | 0 | 15.0 | .467 | .286 | .500 | .3 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 | 3.7 |
| 2023–24 | BC Wolves | 1 | 1 | 24.0 | .383 | .400 | .1000 | 1.0 | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | 10.0 | 7.0 |
| Career | Career | 21 | 4 | 10.1 | .352 | .310 | .727 | .5 | 1.5 | .3 | .0 | 2.9 | 1.5 |

### Domestic leagues

| † | Denotes seasons in which Žagars won the domestic league |
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2017–18 | Joventut Badalona | ACB | 4 | 9.0 | .429 | .500 | .000 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| 2018–19 | Joventut Badalona | ACB | 2 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 0.0 |
| 2018–19 | Prat | FEB | 13 | 17.4 | .400 | .347 | .639 | 1.5 | 2.5 | .5 | .0 | 8.9 |
| 2019–20 | Joventut Badalona | ACB | 21 | 8.8 | .311 | .212 | .700 | .6 | 1.5 | .2 | .0 | 2.5 |
| 2020–21 | Joventut Badalona | ACB | 11 | 5.0 | .368 | .300 | .833 | .5 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2020–21† | Kalev/Cramo | KML | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2021–22 | Braunschweig | BBL | 13 | 17.7 | .338 | .359 | .674 | 1.2 | 2.7 | .6 | .0 | 7.3 |
| 2022–23 | Nevėžis Kėdainiai | LKL | 22 | 28.2 | .458 | .348 | .738 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 1.1 | .0 | 15.4 |
| 2023–24 | Fenerbahçe Beko | BSL | 0 | 0.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 0.0 |
| 2023–24 | BC Wolves | LKL | 7 | 18.0 | .313 | .303 | .846 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | .0 | 10.3 |
| 2024–25 | Fenerbahçe Beko | BSL | 11 | 16.5 | .431 | .364 | .806 | 1.1 | 3.1 | .9 | .1 | 8.3 |
Current season information is written in italics.