Ignas Brazdeikis is back home. A prominent player in former Michigan basketball signed a contract with a professional team in Lithuania, his country of birth, after spending three seasons in the NBA.
Team Zalgiris Kaunas announced their signature on Sunday (July 24th). Brass Day Kiss played the freshman season in Michigan in 2018-19 before becoming a pro. He was drafted in the second round, played for three NBA teams and spent last season at Orlando Magic.
Brass Day Kiss, 23, Born in Kaunas.. Most of his extended family are Lithuanians. His parents moved his family to Chicago when he was three and a few years later to Ontario, Canada, in search of better work opportunities.
Brass Day Kiss speaks Lithuanian in addition to English. A press release from Zargiris said he “regained Lithuanian nationality last year.” He made his Lithuanian national team debut earlier this month, averaging 14.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two World Cup qualifying games. The team’s coach, Kazys Maksvytis, also coaches Zalgiris.
“We have been following Ignas for several years and wanted to see him in the Zargiris jersey,” Zargiris CEO Paulius Motierjunas said in a statement. “Director Maxbitis has already worked with him, so there is no doubt about his abilities.”
Brasdaykis, one of the first players of Michigan coach John Beilein at the time, was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after leading Michigan’s goals (14.8 points per game). Wolverins started 17-0 that season, winning two seeds in the NCAA tournament and losing to Texas Tech in Sweet 16.
Brazdeikis was drafted to 47th overall in the second round of 2019 by the New York Knicks in exchange for a pick. In the next two seasons, a 6-foot-7 guard / forward played in 13 Knicks games, splitting time with the franchise’s G-League team. He was traded to Philadelphia in March 2021, but he played in one match before being cut.
He finished the season in Orlando and played 42 games with his team last season, scoring 5 points on average in 12.8 minutes per game in addition to playing in the G League.
His contract was not renewed and Brasdaykis will return to Lithuania in the 2022-23 season starting in October.
It’s a popular time for NBA and autograph sessions abroad. Devante Jones, starting point guard at the University of Michigan last season, Signed with the French team On Monday, a former four-year prominent Muhammad-Ariabdul-Rakman moved from Poland to Italy last week.
