Lithuanian professional basketball player who plays in the NBA for the New Orleans Pelicans.
He started his professional career in the 2008-2009 season with the Vilnius Perlo team, which played in the National Basketball League (NKL).
On 17 January 2010, the young Lithuanian basketball talent moved to the Vilnius Lietuvos ryto team, with which he became the LKF and LKL champion.
NBA
On 23 June 2011, he joined the Vilnius Lietuvos ryto team, becoming the LKF and LKL champion. Selected by the Toronto Raptors as the fifth pick in the NBA rookie draft, he stayed with Lietuvos rytas for a year. After the 2011-2012 season, he left for the NBA.
On 19 July 2012, he signed a four-year contract with the Toronto Raptors.
In March 2013, he averaged 27 minutes per game, scoring 11.4 points, grabbing 7.3 rebounds and blocking 1.1 shots. He was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.
On February 8, 2019, he played in the Eastern Conference Championship against C.J.
Traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Marc Gasol.
Traded to the New Orleans Pelicans at the beginning of August, 2021.
Lithuanian national youth and men's national teams
2008
In the summer of 2009, the 17-year-old from Utena was a year younger than many of his opponents at the European Championships in Mece, which didn't stop him from dominating under the basket. 19.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 72.1% double-digit shooting - that's what it takes to finish in the top five of the championship.
At the 2010 European Under-18 Championship in Lithuania, Mece scored 19.4 points, grabbed 13.4 rebounds and blocked 2.7 shots. In the finals, he scored 31 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and helped Lithuania become European champion.
In July 2011, at the World Junior (U-19) Championship in Latvia with the Lithuanian U-19 team, he became the world champion[9], was named the MVP of the championship, and was selected as one of the symbolic five players.[10] Throughout the tournament, the Lithuanian captain averaged 23 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots.
In the summer of 2011, after a successful performance at the U-19 World Junior Championships in Latvia, he was invited to the training camp of the Lithuanian men's national basketball team. He was selected for the final squad and represented Lithuania at the 2011 European Basketball Championship, where he finished in 5th place. He scored 8.4 points and grabbed 4.1 rebounds in the championship.