Joe Arlauckas

Joe Arlauckas
Personal information
Born (1965-07-20) July 20, 1965
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolThomas Jefferson
(Rochester, New York)
CollegeNiagara (1983–1987)
NBA draft1987: 4th round, 74th overall pick
Drafted bySacramento Kings
Playing career1987–2000
PositionPower forward
Number53
Career history
1987Sacramento Kings
1988Snaidero Caserta
1988–1990Caja Ronda
1990–1993Taugrés
1993–1998Real Madrid
1998–1999AEK
1999–2000Aris
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Joseph John Arlauckas (born July 20, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player of Lithuanian descent.[1] During his playing career, he played at the power forward position. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball.[2]

Arlauckas is well-known for holding the record for the most points scored in a modern-era single EuroLeague game, including only games played since the 1991–92 season. He scored 63 points in a FIBA European League (EuroLeague) game, while playing with the Spanish club Real Madrid, in a game against the Italian club Virtus Bologna. The game took place during the 1995–96 season, and occurred on February 26, 1996.[3] Radivoj Korać holds the overall all-time EuroLeague (FIBA European Champions Cup) single-game scoring record, at 99 points scored, counting all games played since the competition began during the 1958 season.[4]

Early years

Arlauckas was born on July 20, 1965, in Rochester, New York. He was born to an immigrant father from Lithuania, and to an Italian American mother. Arlauckas attended Thomas Jefferson High School, in Rochester, where he played high school basketball.

College career

Arlauckas played four years of college basketball in the NCAA Division I, at Niagara University, with the Purple Eagles. He attended school and played there from 1983 to 1987. During his college career, he was a three-time All-North Atlantic Conference (NAC)Second Team selection (1985, 1986, 1987).

Arlauckas was inducted into the Niagara Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.[5] He was inducted into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)'s Hall of Fame in 2019.[6][7]

Professional career

NBA career

Arlauckas was drafted with the 74th pick of the 1987 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings, along with their first round draft pick Kenny Smith. In his first season in the NBA, the Kings had a poor regular season record of 24–58 (sixth place of the Midwest Division), which started with Hall of Famer Bill Russell's brief stint as the Kings' head coach, during which time the Kings had a record of 17–41.[1][8]

During his sole season in the NBA, Arlauckas appeared in nine games, averaging four points per game, in roughly 10 minutes of play per game.

Europe

On December 14, 1987, Arlauckas was cut by the NBA's Sacramento Kings. He then went to Italy, where he played for six months of time in the top-tier level Serie A with Snaidero Caserta. He went on to have a successful career playing in Spain, playing in the top-tier level Liga ACB.

In Spain, he played with Caja de Ronda, Taugrés, and Real Madrid, winning several individual and team accolades. He signed with Madrid in 1993 after they paid Taugrés 25 million pesetas for the transfer and the loan of young player Ignacio Castellanos.[9] At Real Madrid, he formed one of European basketball's most fearsome front courts, along with center Arvydas Sabonis, and he won the championship of the top-tier level European league, the FIBA European League, with Real Madrid in 1995 against Olympiacos.[3][10] With Madrid, he also won the second-tier level European league, the FIBA EuroCup, during the 1996–97 season.

On February 26, 1996, Arlauckas scored 63 points, a record in the modern era of the EuroLeague, against Kinder Bologna as Madrid won the game 115–96.[11][12] In six seasons out of ten played in Spain, Arlauckas averaged more than 20 points per game. He scored 7,543 points in the Liga ACB, for a scoring average of 20.7 points per game.

He retired in 2000, at the age of 35, after playing two years in Greece – playing one season apiece with the Greek top-tier level Basket League clubs AEK Athens and Aris Thessaloniki.

Post-playing career

After he retired from playing basketball, Arlauckas became a sports commentator, working for EuroLeague TV.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Source[13]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1987–88 Sacramento 909.4.326—.7501.4.9.3.43.8

Honors and awards

References

  1. 1 2 Cress, Doug (October 31, 1991). "In Spain, a Lithuanian Giant Awakens for the Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ Stanković, Vladimir (June 5, 2020). "101 Greats: Joe Arlauckas". KOS magazin. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Stankovic, Vladimir (November 10, 2012). "Joe Arlauckas, the "recordman"". Euroleague. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Stankovic, Vladimir (January 12, 2011). "Radivoj Korac's 99 points". euroleague.net. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Joe Arlauckas (1992) - Hall of Honor". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Joseph Arlauckas (2019) - Honor Roll". maacsports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Arlauckas, Kemp Named To MAAC Basketball Honor Roll". Niagara University Athletics. August 8, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Stephen (April 11, 1992). "Basketball is More Than a Game in Independent Lithuania". Associated Press. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ "De Querejeta a Nocioni , cronología de los traspasos entre Baskonia y Real Madrid". baskonistas.com (in European Spanish). July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  10. ↑ Lahman, Sean (May 6, 2015). "RocJocks: Jefferson grad Joe Arlauckas was hoops star in Spain". Democrat & Chronicle. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Arlauckas Scores 63 Points". FIBA.com. February 26, 1996. Archived from the original on May 26, 1998. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  12. ↑ Stanković, Vladimir (November 10, 2012). "Joe Arlauckas, the "recordman"". euroleague.net. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Joe Arlauckas NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
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