Rimas Kurtinaitis was officially announced as the new head coach of Lithuanian national team, taking over the reign from Kazys Maksvytis.
After years of consistently being named as a candidate, Rimas Kurtinaitis will coach the Lithuanian national team.
The Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) announced that the 64-year-old specialist will take over the position following Kazys Maksvytis' departure this summer.
Kurtinaitis arrives during a time when the national team is at a crossroads after a highly criticized three-year span. Lithuania placed only 15th in EuroBasket 2022, the team's lowest position in the tournament in history.
The 6th place at the 2023 FIBA World Cup was followed by a failure to advance to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games following a loss to Puerto Rico in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
This past summer's loss resulted in a huge public scandal regarding a supposed players' party during the OQT. Additionally, the LKF presidential election in September garnered tremendous public attention due to increased scrutiny as a result of the national team's failures.
Kurtinaitis was seen as the main candidate to take over Lithuania way back in 2009, when he won four titles with then-Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius - the Lithuanian League, Lithuanian Cup, Baltic Basketball League, and the EuroCup.
While Kurtinaitis was the assistant coach to Ramunas Butautas in the national team at the time and was seen as a natural successor, Kestutis Kemzura was chosen to lead the squad instead, and the team captured bronze at the 2010 FIBA World Cup.
Kurtinaitis' debut will come during the two Lithuania's games against North Macedonia in November as part of the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.
