Davis Bertans

Davis Bertans was born in 1992 in Rugjiena, Latvia. Bertans' father was a professional basketball player and his mother was a high-level rower. Davis' older brother, Dairis, appeared in 12 games for the Pelicans during the 2018-19 NBA season. A childhood wood-cutting accident cost the "Latvian Laser" part of the ring finger on his right hand, which is his shooting hand. Bertans played for the Latvian National Team at EuroBasket 2011 and 2017. In 2011, his national team production was modest. But in 2017, Bertans generated 14 points, three rebounds and two assists per EuroBasket game. Fans can follow Bertans on Twitter (@DBertans_42). Bertans started his professional basketball career at 15 years of age during the 2007-08 season for the ASK Kadeti II team of Latvia's LBL3. For the next two seasons, Bertans played for BAA Riga of Latvia's second level league. During those two years, he also played briefly in Latvia's top division, first with ASK Riga and then with BK Keizarmezs in late 2009. The sharpshooting Latvian started the 2010-11 season with BK Barons, but in November signed a multi-year deal with Union Olimpija, a Slovenian club in Ljubljana. He appeared in 10 Euroleague contests during that season and averaged roughly 3.0 points and 0.5 three pointers per game. In the summer of 2011, Bertans was drafted by the Pacers with the 42nd overall pick, but his rights were traded right away to the San Antonio Spurs -- along with Kawhi Leonard -- for George Hill. In the 2011-12 season, Bertans played in 23 games for Union Olimpija before signing a 3.5-year deal with Serbian club Partizan Belgrade. Bertans tore his right ACL in June 2013 during the Serbian League finals. The injury forced Bertans to miss nine months of play. In July of 2014, Bertans signed a three-year deal with Vitoria of the Spanish ACB league. Over 22 Euroleague games with Vitoria, Bertans averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 three-pointers over 22 minutes of run. In March of 2015, still with Vitoria, Bertans once again tore his right ACL, signaling the end of his European playing days. He started the 2016-17 season in the NBA with the Spurs.