Marius Grigonis
Lithuanian basketball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marius Grigonis (born 26 April 1994) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League and the EuroLeague. Standing at a height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Grigonis with the Lithuanian national team | |
| No. 40 – Panathinaikos | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / shooting guard |
| League | Greek Basketball League EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 26 April 1994 Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2016: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2014 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 2009–2013 | →Žalgiris-2 |
| 2013–2014 | →Peñas Huesca |
| 2014–2016 | Manresa |
| 2016–2017 | Tenerife |
| 2017–2018 | Alba Berlin |
| 2018–2021 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 2021–2022 | CSKA Moscow |
| 2022–present | Panathinaikos |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Early career
Before starting his professional career, Grigonis played in the NKL with the Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school for four seasons. He was an important contributor to the team during his debut season, and established himself as a leader by his third season. He won bronze medals during his last two seasons with the Sabonis school team.
Professional career
On 15 May 2013, Grigonis was brought into the main Žalgiris roster for a game against BC Nizhny Novgorod in the VTB United League.
Playing in Spain (2013–2017)
For the 2013–14 season, Grigonis was loaned to the Spanish second division team Peñas Huesca. He was included in the All-LEB Oro team.[1]
On 14 August 2014, Grigonis signed a two-year deal with Bàsquet Manresa of the Liga ACB. After spending two seasons with Manresa, he signed a "2+1" deal with Iberostar Tenerife on 28 July 2016.[2] He was named the Final Four MVP of the Basketball Champions League 2016–17 season. On 13 July 2017, Grigonis parted ways with Tenerife.[3]
Alba Berlin (2017–2018)
On 13 July 2017, he signed a three-year deal with German club Alba Berlin.[4]
Return to Žalgiris (2018–2021)
On 3 July 2018, Grigonis returned to Žalgiris Kaunas when he signed a three-year contract.[5] His season was cut short due to an injury in November 2019. Grigonis averaged 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in the first 10 games of the 2019–20 season. On 8 July 2020, he re-signed with the team.[6]
CSKA Moscow (2021–2022)
On 12 June 2021, Grigonis signed a three-year contract with VTB United League champions and EuroLeague mainstays CSKA Moscow. He averaged 8.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game during his first season the Russian powerhouse.
On 28 February 2022, upon the outbreak of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he departed the club.[7][8][9] The team accused him of violating his contract.[8][10]
Panathinaikos (2022–present)
On 14 July 2022, Grigonis signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague, after a settlement agreement between the Greek club and CSKA Moscow was reached.[11]
Grigonis received an improved role in the team rotation during his second season, under the supervision of new head coach Ergin Ataman. On 8 April 2024, Grigonis agreed upon a three-year contract extension that would keep him with the Greek powerhouse through 2027.[12] On July 11 of the same year, the deal was made official.[13]
In the 2024–25 season, Marius Grigonis was sidelined for an extended period due to a serious back injury. He last played for Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on October 17, 2024, during a EuroLeague Round 4 game against Real Madrid, where he was on the court for only 2 minutes and 24 seconds before exiting due to back pain.[14]
Initially, Grigonis was expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks of action. However, his recovery was slower than anticipated, leading to a decision to undergo surgery. The surgery was performed on December 11, 2024, in Athens.[15] Despite the procedure and ongoing rehabilitation efforts, Grigonis's back issues persisted, preventing him from returning to the court for the remainder of the season.[16]
In the 2025–26 season, Grigonis made his return to the court on September 30, 2025, after 344 days out, playing 8 minutes in Panathinaikos’ 87–79 EuroLeague season opener victory over Bayern Munich. Upon entering the game, he received an enthusiastic ovation from the fans.[17]
National team career
Grigonis represented Lithuania in the U–16, U–18, U–19 and U–20 youth tournaments. He led his team to two silver medals and a bronze medal while participating in four tournaments. During the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship semifinal game, he scored the winning shot against Serbia. As a result of his contributions to the team's success, he was chosen to be included in the All–Tournament Team.[18] In 2014, coach Jonas Kazlauskas included Grigonis in the preliminary 24–player candidate list for the senior national basketball team.[19] Though, he was invited to the national team training camp for the first time only in 2016 and immediately qualified into the Olympic roster.[20][21]
Career statistics
| 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 | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
| † | Competition Winner |
| * | Led the league |
 |
50%+ of games missed due to injury |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Žalgiris | 34 | 18 | 20.8 | .466 | .442 | .935 | 2.1 | 1.9 | .6 | — | 8.7 | 9.3 |
| 2019–20 | 10 | 10 | 25.7 | .447 | .386 | .846 | 2.6 | 2.0 | .5 | .1 | 11.5 | 11 | |
| 2020–21 | 34 | 34 | 27.6 | .481 | .456 | .944 | 2.1 | 3.3 | .8 | .1 | 13.4 | 13.7 | |
| 2021–22 | CSKA Moscow | 16 | 3 | 19.4 | .424 | .431 | .917 | 1.4 | 1.9 | .6 | — | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| 2022–23 | Panathinaikos | 27 | 7 | 17.9 | .435 | .435 | .840 | 1.6 | 1.6 | .4 | — | 8.1 | 7.6 |
| 2023–24† | 41* | 36 | 24.7 | .483 | .417 | .900 | 2.7 | 1.3 | .6 | — | 9.1 | 8.7 | |
| 2024–25 |
4 | 2 | 22.9 | .333 | .250 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 1.0 | .0 | .3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | |
| Career | 166 | 110 | 22.4 | .463 | .430 | .906 | 2.1 | 2.0 | .6 | .0 | 9.7 | 9.6 | |
EuroCup
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Alba Berlin | 16 | 8 | 25.1 | .449 | .475 | .897 | 3.1 | 2.6 | .9 | — | 11.6 | 13.5 |
| Career | 16 | 8 | 25.1 | .449 | .475 | .897 | 3.1 | 2.6 | .9 | — | 11.6 | 13.5 | |
Basketball Champions League
Domestic leagues
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 |  Žalgiris-2 | NKL | 18 | 15.8 | .382 | .324 | .786 | 1.8 | .9 | .7 | .1 | 4.5 |
| 2010–11 | 14 | 8.3 | .306 | .273 | .800 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | .1 | 2.3 | ||
| 2011–12 | 46 | 23.3 | .494 | .331 | .808 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 2.0 | .9 | 10.5 | ||
| 2012–13 | 38 | 29.0 | .484 | .419 | .862 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | .1 | 13.9 | ||
| 2012–13 | Žalgiris | VTBUL | 1 | 1.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2013–14 |  Peñas Huesca | LEB Oro | 28 | 25.8 | .491 | .488 | .829 | 2.9 | 2.0 | .9 | .2 | 13.0 |
| 2014–15 | Manresa | ACB | 26 | 21.2 | .416 | .430 | .714 | 3.2 | .6 | .4 | .1 | 7.7 |
| 2015–16 | 34 | 25.2 | .449 | .394 | .765 | 3.0 | .9 | .6 | .1 | 9.7 | ||
| 2016–17 | Canarias | 30 | 19.6 | .385 | .363 | .857 | 1.4 | 2.0 | .5 | .1 | 6.2 | |
| 2017–18 |  Alba Berlin | BBL | 47 | 24.7 | .529 | .469 | .879 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.1 | .1 | 12.0 |
| 2018–19† | Žalgiris | LKL | 40 | 20.4 | .504 | .368 | .892 | 3.0 | 2.3 | .7 | .1 | 9.5 |
| 2019–20† | 7 | 17.5 | .405 | .364 | .909 | 1.9 | 1.7 | .1 | — | 6.9 | ||
| 2020–21† | 39 | 21.0 | .527 | .467 | .913 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 12.9 | ||
| 2021–22 |  CSKA Moscow | VTBUL | 10 | 19.0 | .554 | .512 | .867 | .6 | 2.0 | .3 | — | 12.0 |
| 2022–23 |  Panathinaikos | GBL | 19 | 25.6 | .437 | .418 | .778 | 2.9 | 2.7 | .8 | .0 | 12.4 |
| 2023–24† | 35 | 19.9 | .524 | .513 | .875 | 2.4 | 1.6 | .7 | .0 | 9.2 | ||
| 2024–25 | 2 | 12.5 | .615 | .517 | .833 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 12.5 |
