The face of Zalgiris Kaunas is Mantas Kalnietis. The 25-year-old combo-guard has spent his entire career with the club and extended his stay for an additional three seasons at this time last season. Since he made his senior team debut as a teenager, Kalnietis has helped his club and the Lithuanian national team to numerous titles and medals. However he was just a schoolboy when Zalgiris won its lone Euroleague crown in 1999. And though he has played alongside several members of that squad since, Kalnietis is out to taste Euroleague glory for himself.

Kalnietis started the season off slowly, but when the chips were down and Zalgiris had its back to the wall, he played his best basketball. Kalnitis led the team in scoring with 14 in a crucial Week 9 win at Brose Baskets and then matched his career high with 7 assists to pave the way to victory over KK Zagreb in the regular season finale as Zalgiris clinched a Top 16 berth. Now with the bright lights of the Top 16 upon him, Kalnietis has the chance to shine again and lead the Lithuanian champs to the Playoffs for the first time since that magical 1999 run.

The scouting report on Kalnietis might make opposing defenders feel that they are at the mercurial guard’s mercy. Kalnietis is at his best in the open floor where he can use his sizzling speed and superb athleticism to finish at the rim with a powerful dunk or with his great court sense he can drive, create space and dish to an open man. But even in halfcourt sets, those same skills allow Kalnietis to create his own shots. And his overall playmaking and defensive abilities have improved much in recent years.

Despite his obvious talent, Kalnietis’s rise to a prominent role took some time. He was nurtured through the Lithuanian junior national teams and cracked Zalgiris’s first team roster when he was 19. In fact, that year he was already selected to represent Lithuania at the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan. However it wasn’t until the 2008-09 season that he had his breakthrough season and became a regular starter. Since then his production has increased each season and today Kalnietis stands out as one of Zalgiris’s most important players.

It is worth noting that over the past two seasons, despite the better competition, Kalnietis’s average performance index rating increased nearly 25% in Top 16 games compared to the regular season despite playing even fewer minutes in the former. With that in mind, no one should be surprised to see the Zalgiris guard at his best in the Top 16, while aiming to carry Zalgiris to its best season in over a decade.