Raitis Grafs (born June 12, 1981) is a Latvian former professional basketball player. He played at the center position. Grafs represented the senior men's Latvian national team.
Early life and career
Grafs was born in
Riga,
Latvia. In
kindergarten, Grafs met
Kristaps Valters, and they eventually became best friends, and also eventually became teammates. As a teenager, Grafs was regarded as one of the best young basketball prospects in Europe.
College career
Grafs played college basketball in the
NCAA DI at Valparaiso University, where he played with the Valparaiso Crusaders, from 1999 to 2003. During his freshman year at Valparaiso, he was nominated the conferences' Newcomer of the Year.
Professional career
After he finished playing college basketball in the US, Grafs returned to Europe. He eventually went on to play in Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia, Cyprus, and Latvia.
National team career
Latvian junior national team
Grafs averaged 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. At the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, he averaged 11.9 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game, and he was voted to the All-Tournament Team.
Latvian senior national team
Grafs was also a member of the senior Latvian national team. At the age of just 16 years and 5 months, Grafs became the youngest member of the senior men's Latvian national team. With Latvia, he played at the 2001 EuroBasket, the 2003 EuroBasket, the 2005 EuroBasket, and the 2007 EuroBasket.
External links
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Raitis Grafs at FIBA
