BC Žalgiris

Basketball Club Žalgiris (Lithuanian: Krepšinio Klubas Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). Žalgiris is one of 11 European clubs that hold Euroleague A Licenses, which provide their holders with a guaranteed place in the regular-season phase of the Euroleague.

Since the 2011–12 season, Žalgiris plays its home games in the new Žalgiris Arena, built just before the EuroBasket 2011.

Logo design: a green and white shield with the sign "BC Žalgiris", a basketball, and the letter "Ž". The club's name commemorates the victorious Battle of Žalgiris (Battle of Grunwald) (both names: Žalgiris and Grunwald are translated as "green grove").

History

1944–1982

The club was formed in 1944. The team almost immediately became a power, winning multiple Lithuanian basketball championships, also winning the USSR Premier Basketball League in 1947 and 1951. The team also won silver in the 1949 and 1952 championships, also winning the bronze medals in 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956. Žalgiris also won the USSR Basketball Cup in 1953. The team was at the time was lead by Stepas Butautas, Vytautas Kulakauskas, Justinas Lagunavičius, Kazimieras Petkevičius, and later, by Stasys Stonkus and Algirdas Lauritėnas.