The Latvian basketball legend Gundars Vētra was born 22 May, 1967 in Ventspils, Soviet Union. The 198-centimeters-tall guard/forward spent the majority of his career with VEF Rīga (1984-1986, 1987-1992) and CSKA Moscow (1995-1996, 1997-2000) teams, winning 4 Russian Superleague titles.
Vētra made his EuroLeague debut in 1994/95 season with ASK Brocēni team, seeing an early exit from the tournament. The following appearance in the EuroLeague came being a member of CSKA Moscow team a season later. Vētra helped CSKA to win the bronze medals, scoring 243 points in 20 games, averaging 12.2 points per game. In total, the Latvian forward played 5 seasons in the EuroLeague, scoring 606 points in 68 games, averaging 8.9 points per game.
The Ventspils-born player eventually became the first Latvian to play in the NBA. His international career was short-lived due to controversy around 1992 Olympic Games. Vētra agreed to represent the Unified Team, which was basically the Soviet Union team, and this closed the doors to his future appearances with the Latvian national team.
Vētra was a prolific scorer, becoming the Top Scorer of the USSR Premier League in 1988. In his EuroLeague, FIBA Saporta Cup, FIBA Korac Cup, and international games from 1989 to 2000, Vētra scored 1128 points in 99 games.
ACCOLADES
EuroLeague (1996)
FIBA World Cup (1990) Eurobasket (1989)
USSR Premier League Top Scorer (1988) USSR Premier League (1991)
Russian Superleague (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000) Latvian League (1995)
Year
94/95
95/96
97/98
98/99
99/00
TOT
Team
Age
28
29
31
32
33
GP
3
20
9
18
18
68
PPG
20.0
12.2
10.7
5.8
5.7
8.9
PTS
60
243
96
105
102
606
RNK
113th
23rd
135th
123rd
133rd
FIBA SAPORTA CUP STATISTICS
Year
91/92
94/95
TOT
Team
Age
25
28
GP
3
11
14
PPG
17.3
22.0
21.0
PTS
52
242
294
TRK
2RD
QF
FIBA KORAC CUP STATISTICS
Year
96/97
TOT
Team
Age
30
GP
4
4
PPG
12.0
12.0
PTS
48
48
TRK
GS
USSR, LATVIAN, RUSSIAN, TURKISH & ITALIAN LEAGUE STATISTICS
Year
85/86
87/88
88/89
89/90
90/91
91/92
93/94
94/95
95/96
96/97
97/98
98/99
99/00
00/01
01/02
TOT
Team
Age
19
21
22
23
24
25
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
GP
29
36
24
38
25
10
21
29
37
19
52
29
46
42
37
474
PPG
7.8
19.1
23.9
18.2
27.1
34.1
24.1
24.1
13.6
14.1
11.6
10.2
7.7
10.0
6.2
15.0
PTS
227
707
573
691
678
341
509
699
503
268
601
295
352
419
230
7093
TRK
8th
7th
11th
6th
4th
5th
9th
5th
11th
OLYMPIC GAMES STATISTICS
Year
1992
TOT
Team
Age
25
GP
8
4
PPG
8.9
8.9
PTS
71
71
RNK
43rd
FIBA WORLD CUP STATISTICS
Year
1990
TOT
Team
Age
23
GP
8
4
PPG
10.0
10.0
PTS
80
80
RNK
62nd
EUROBASKET STATISTICS
Year
1989
TOT
Team
Age
22
GP
5
5
PPG
5.8
5.8
PTS
29
29
RNK
43rd
Description for statistics
FIBA Saporta Cup is the same competition, as FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup, ULEB Cup or EuroCup, a 2nd-tier European Cup competition. FIBA Korac Cup is the same competition as FIBA EuroChallenge, a 3rd-tier European Cup competition. GP – Games played PPG – Points per game PTS – Total points RNK – Individual scoring ranking TRK – Team ranking