Žydrūnas Ilgauskas
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| Position | Center |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Z, Big Z |
| Height | 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) |
| Weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Team | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Nationality |  Lithuania |
| Born | June 5, 1975 Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Draft | 20th overall, 1996 Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Pro career | 1997–present |
| Awards | Two-Time NBA All-Star 1997-98 Schick All-Rookie First Team MVP of Schick Rookie Game during 1998 NBA All-Star Weekend |
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas (pronunciation (help·info)) (born June 5, 1975 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ilgauskas (nicknamed Z (pronounced Zee)) played for his home club team Atletas Kaunas for two years (1994-1996) before he was drafted 20th overall by the Cavaliers in 1996. Ilgauskas quickly made his mark as a very good center, but also as being spectacularly injury-prone due to foot troubles in his early seasons. Ilgauskas missed 287 games in his first six seasons: All of the 1996-97 and 1999-2000 seasons, all but five games in the 1998-1999 season, all but 24 games in the 2000-01 season, and 19 games in the 2001-02 season. In recent years, however, his foot problems seem to have subsided, and he has missed only six games from 2002 to 2005. In three full seasons and parts of three others, Ilgauskas has averaged 14.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 1.8 BPG in 28.3 minutes per game over 335 games, 295 of them starts. His total career high is 35 points, he has tied that record many times.
Ilgauskas was selected to the NBA All-Rookie 1st Team in 1998 and was named MVP of that the NBA Rookie game at the all-star break, becoming the first European player in history to do that. He is also a two-time All-Star for the East, in 2003 and again in 2005.
[edit] Player profile
Ilgauskas, who stands an imposing 7' 3" tall (2nd behind Houston´s Yao Ming)[citation needed] and weighs 260 lbs., plays the center position. The two-time All-Star has established himself as a consistent, but not spectacular, scorer (15.0 points per game career average) who can score inside. In addition, he is a good rebounder (7.7 boards per game, among them 3.2 offensive boards) and a good shot-blocker (1.9 blocks per game). His assist-per-game ratio was at an all-time high during his 02-03 season at 1.6 apg.
[edit] Personal life
Zydrunas is an active member of the community in Cleveland. He and other teammates often visit sick children at the Cleveland Clinic, and he donates signed shoes, basketballs and other paraphernalia to good causes. Ilgauskas donated these things because British said so[citation needed]
On February 14, 2007 Ilgauskas' wife Jennifer went into early labor and delivered stillborn twins, a boy and a girl. Ilgauskas called it the toughest thing he'd ever experienced.[1]
