Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a Lithuanian man who was born in the United States and used to play professional basketball.
Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2010 and for the Miami Heat in 2010–11. In 1997-1998, he was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, and he has been an All-Star twice. In the 2007 NBA Finals, Ilgauskas played for the Cavaliers.
He was known for his accurate jump shot, his ability to get the ball back, and his ability to play through injuries. Ilgauskas, who was known as “Big Z,” has blocked more shots than anyone else in Cavaliers history. His number 11 jersey has been retired by the team.
In 2012, Ilgauskas joined the Cavaliers’ front office as a special advisor.
Two children have been adopted by Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his wife
In 2007, Zydrunas’s wife got pregnant with twins, but the babies were born four months early because of problems with the pregnancy. The couple lost both babies.
Later, the basketball player and his wife got the two kids, who were 4 and 5 years old, from an orphanage in Kaunas, Lithuania, where he grew up.
Povilas and Deividas don’t speak English and are still getting used to life in the U.S. Ilgauskas says that becoming a father has made him appreciate his teammates with families even more.
The basketball player said that he became a father almost right away. He also said that since the kids came, he hasn’t slept much and is having a great time with them. Even though it was hard for him at the time, he said it was a great experience.
Zydrunas is also happy with his two kids and has said that they make his family complete.
What Happened to Jennifer Ilgauskas, the wife of a basketball player?
Jennifer, who was 50 years old, died. She was married to former Cleveland Cavalier Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Jennifer owned several businesses in Northeast Ohio, including Rebound Physical Therapy, North Olmsted Urgent Care, Lakewood Urgent Care, and Darbo, a medical billing company.
She was very passionate about the charity groups she helped. Many people were moved by her kind actions, but few knew how much she did for others. Jennifer and Zydrunas got married at the beginning of the 2000s and were together for almost 20 years.
Prayers and kind words for Jennifer’s family started coming in almost as soon as the news spread that she had died. Tom Withers, a reporter for the Cavaliers, was sad to hear about Jennifer. He also sent condolences to her family and many other friends.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas Earnings and Net Worth in 2022
As a former professional basketball player in the United States, Ilgauskas has a net worth of $55 million. Before, Zydrunas signed a two-year, $2,751,688 contract with the Miami Heat. He was guaranteed $2,751,688 and made an average of $1,375,844 per year.
In 1994, when Lithuania was trying to get into the EuroBasket 1995, the basketball player made his first appearance with the national team. He averaged 7.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. They made it to the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In the summer of 2009, the Cavaliers bought Shaquille O’Neal.
But in September 2011, Zydrunas said he was done playing basketball. He cited long-term physical fatigue and normal wear and tear on his body as reasons for his decision.
By 2022, the basketball player had made a lot of money over the course of his long career. He is currently living an expensive life with his family and other people he cares about.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas is an American basketball player who was born in Lithuania on June 5, 1975. He played the center position in the NBA. The 7’3″ Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA from 1997 to 2010 and for the Miami Heat during the 2010–11 season. He was named to the 1997–1998 All-Rookie First Team and is a two-time NBA All-Star. He is known for his accurate jump shot, his rebounding, and for coming back from injuries.
Work as a professional
Ilgauskas made his professional debut with Atletas, a team from Kaunas, where he was born, in 1993. In the 1994–95 season, he averaged 20.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.
Ilgauskas was picked 20th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1996 NBA draft. On August 1, 1996, he signed a multi-year contract with the Cavaliers. In the beginning of his career, he had a lot of foot and ankle injuries. He spent the whole 1996–97 season on the injured list because he broke a bone in his right foot.
In 1997–98, he won the Rookie Challenge and was named to the All-Rookie First Team. In 1998, he signed a contract extension worth $70.9 million over 6 years, but he only played in 5 games over the next two seasons. On January 26, 2000, he had surgery to fix a broken bone in his left foot.
In 2000–01, he got back to being the Cavaliers’ starting center. In December 2000, he got hurt again and had to miss the rest of the season. The injury hurt the Cavaliers, who had won 15 of 23 games with Ilgauskas but ended up with a 30–52 record without him.
He came back in December 2001, and for the rest of the season he mostly filled in for Chris Mihm.
Ilgauskas averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2002–03. He was chosen as an All-Star, but the Cavaliers finished with the third-worst record in team history (17–65) and got the first pick in the draft.
In 2003, the Cavaliers picked up high school star and future NBA MVP LeBron James. James, Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden made up the core of the team. Ilgauskas missed only nine games over the next three years and was named an All-Star again in 2005.
Ilgauskas signed a new deal with the Cavaliers on July 12, 2005. The deal was said to be worth over $55 million over five years.
Ilgauskas was the starting center for the next four years, when the team turned into a contender. They went to the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In the summer of 2009, the Cavaliers traded for Shaquille O’Neal. When Ilgauskas was asked about the trade, he said, “I just read about it.” That probably means I’ll be coming off the bench.” On December 2, 2009, Ilgauskas came off the bench in a game against the Phoenix Suns to break the team record for career games played, passing general manager Danny Ferry.
On February 17, 2010, Ilgauskas was traded from the Cavaliers to the Washington Wizards along with a 2010 first-round pick and the rights to Emir Preldi. This was part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from Washington to Cleveland, Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers to Washington, Drew Gooden from Washington to Los Angeles, and Sebastian Telfair from Los Angeles to Cleveland. On February 25, 2010, the Wizards bought out his contract,
Ilgauskas signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the rest of the 2009–10 season on March 23, 2010. He made his return the next day in a win over the New Orleans Hornets. In his first home game back with the team, against the Sacramento Kings, Ilgauskas received huge cheers and support from the crowd. Quicken Loans Arena was affectionately renamed “The Z” for the day, in honor of the Lithuanian.
The 2010 NBA playoffs were the first time in Ilgauskas’ career that he didn’t play a big role in the Cavaliers’ rotation. He averaged 1.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG in only 69 minutes of floor time, which was far below his career playoff numbers. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On March 8, 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers retired Ilgauskas’s number 11. At the time, he was only the third European after Draen Petrovi and Vlade Divac to be honored this way by an NBA team.
Miami Heat (2010–2011)
Ilgauskas signed with the Miami Heat on July 17, 2010. The Heat’s signings of Chris Bosh and longtime teammate LeBron James influenced Ilgauskas’s decision to join the Heat. On December 2, 2010, during the Heat’s first game in Cleveland, the fans cheered Ilgauskas during pre-game introductions while booing the rest of the starters, including James.
Ilgauskas announced in September 2011 that he was giving up basketball. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and was tired of the long-term physical wear and tear on his body.
Career on the national team
Ilgauskas played his first game with the Lithuania national team in 1994, when the team was trying to qualify for EuroBasket 1995. He averaged 7.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. He later wanted to play for the Lithuania national team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the Cavaliers wouldn’t let him because of his history of injuries.
In 2004, when Ilgauskas was still a player, the couple got married. According to her obituary, Jennifer worked in the medical field in northeast Ohio and owned Rebound Physical Therapy, North Olmstead Urgent Care, Lakewood Urgent Care, and Darbo, a medical billing company.
Jennifer’s approach to her work was both visionary and selfless, and she did it with a heart for service. “She was always thinking of ways to grow and always wanted to do more,” the obituary said. “She loved working and being a leader who led by example. She cared deeply about everyone she hired, and if someone needed to talk, her door was always open. She gave freely of her time, money, and advice.