First, a player then opted for an executive; Arturas Karnisovas is quite a famous name in the world of basketball.
To remain specific about his work, he serves as the Chicago Bulls‘ basketball operations executive vice president.
Arturas is a native of Klaipeda who landed up in the United States as an eighteen-year-old teenager to fulfill his dreams.
He has enjoyed a series of international careers, starting from playing overseas to being part of the most reputed organization as a manager or executive.
After excelling in his college career, he initially worked for the NBA league office, where he was assigned to spot new talents.
Then, Arturas served as an international scout for the Rockets. It was all interesting when he gathered most of the limelight with his contract with the Nuggets.
And, now here he is, working for the Chicago Bulls. Not to mention, Arturas also represented Lithuania in Olympics. His accomplishment by these days is undoubtedly praiseworthy. Stay tuned to this article and read to know more.
Let’s take a quick dose of the facts on Arturas Karinsovas before taking a laydown on his life.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Artūras Karnišovas |
| Birth Date | April 27, 1971 |
| Birth Place | Klaipėda, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nick Name | Not Known |
| Religion | Not Known |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Ethnicity | Not known |
| Education | Seton Hall University |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Father’s Name | Mykolas |
| Mother’sName | Irena |
| Siblings | Not known |
| Age | 52 Years Old |
| Height | 6 feet 8 inches (2.04 m) |
| Weight | 103 kg (227 lbs) |
| Played as | Small Forward |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Playing Career | 1987-2002 |
| Build | Athlete |
| Marital Status | Gina Karnisovas in 1997 |
| Children | Two sons (Eric and Michael) |
| Position | Executive vice president of the Chicago Bulls |
| Profession | Former basketball player and currently an Executive |
| Net Worth | around $2 million |
| Salary | $201,525 |
| Currently Works for | Chicago Bulls |
| League | NBA |
| Active Since | 1987- present |
| Social Media | Not available |
| Chicago Bulls’ Merch | Jersey, Hoodie, Hat |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Arturas Karnisovas | Early Life and Family
Arturas Karnisovas, Bulls’ President, was born on April 27, 1971, to his parents, Mykolas and Irena, in Lithuania SSR, Soviet Union.
Well, nothing has been retrieved regarding his siblings from internet sources. So maybe, he is only the kid in the family.
Moreover, his father was also a basketball player at Vilnius for the club Stayba which is the same club that Arturas played for during his high school days.
And they were the only father-son duo to pop in for some games together at some point in their careers. The basketballer started his career in Lithuania and played until 1990.
As an eighteen-year-old teenager, Arturas always held the dream of playing in the United States. And side by side, he also wished to do well in academics.
Learn more about his college stats at shupirates.com.
College Career
Arturas unlocked his way to further his career in basketball and received an invitation from Seton Hall University. It was all possible under Arturas Marciulonis and head coach PJ Carlesimo’s recommendation during the 1990 FIBA World Championship.
As a matter of fact, Arturas was the first-ever player from the USSR to get enrolled in an American College who knew not even a word of English.
In his four years of career at Seton Hall University, he led his team to win two Big East Tournaments and was certified for the NCAA Tournament four times in a row.
Not to mention, Karnisovas was the only player to bring himself up as a leader for all four teams. He also took studies side by side. As a result, economics was never a problem during the four seasons of his basketball career.
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Arturas Karnisovas | Professional Playing Career
The basketballer opted and tried quite a lot harder for the NBA but could not draw any attention from the NBA team in the 1994 NBA draft.
He then initiated playing overseas until 2002. Then, finally, his college coach P. J. Carlesimo sensed his inability to perform in North America.
And later, his coach instead directed him to Europe as he would be covered with maximum financial return.
Not only that, Arturas is one of the few players to have made a name in Europe’s four biggest national domestic league championships, Spain (for FC Barcelona), Italy (Fortitudo Bologna), and Greece (Olympiacos Piraeus), and France (Cholet).
Furthermore, his major career highlight began when he made it to the EuroLeague’s EuroLeague Final Four three times.
Arturas headed the 1998–99 EuroLeague season in free throw percentage. He was also named FIBA’s European Player of the Year in 1996.
Arturas Karnisovas | National Team Career
He is a proud Lithuanian, a sign itself that Arturas must have indulged in the national team. Arturas headed the senior men’s Lithuanian national basketball team to grab the bronze medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996.
He also remained the player for Eurobasket 1995 and won the silver medal in 1995 and 1997.
Arturas played for 13 minutes as per sources, but he scored 10 points during the 1992 Olympics game.
Going through the internet, look what we found; here is a video where Arturas competed with Michael Jordan in 1997.
Is Arturas Karnisovas playing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?
No, the two-time Olympian will not be present at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as he is a retired player. Hence, he hasn’t played professional basketball since 2002 and is in his 50s.
So, he probably won’t be an asset to the Lithuania men’s national basketball team. However, during his playing career, he helped lead Lithuania to two consecutive bronze medals in the 1992 and 1996
In 1992, the executive VP’s team defeated Brazil in the quarterfinals but got defeated by the USA in the semi-finals. Thereafter they played against CIS to claim the Bronze medal.
Similarly, in 1994, the Lithuania men’s national basketball team defeated Greece in the quarterfinals but got beaten by FR Yugoslavia national basketball team in the semi-finals.
Then they beat the Australian men’s national basketball team to win their second consecutive bronze medal. After that, Arturas did not make any appearances in the Olympics.
Arturas Karnisovas | Post Playing Career
After wrapping up his playing career in 2002, Arturas landed a job at National Basketball Association’s basketball operations office from 2003 to 2008.
Later on, he also served as an international scout for the Houston Rockets for five years.
Meanwhile, Arturas also directed the players picked in the NBA draft—in 2011 and 2012 in the Adidas Eurocamp, a preparation tournament.
Later on June 15, 2017, he took the job of general manager for Nuggets while Tim Connelly was promoted to president’s post.
Denver Nuggets
Prior to that, Arturas was assigned as an assistant general manager.
Arturas had a great time with Denver, where he guided two-time All-Star center Nikola Jokic to the second round of the NBA draft with the 41st overall pick, including the lottery selections Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
Here is a youtube video of Arturas Karnisovas after getting promoted to the post of general manager.
Arturas and Tim worked together as a team and have built up highly respected international scouting operations.
Denver ranked third in the Western Conference and also led the Northwest Division with a 43-22 record during his reign.
Arturas was considered one of the top contenders for the Brooklyn Nets’ new general manager post in 2016.
Following that, he also got evolved as one of the candidates for the general manager post for the Milwaukee Bucks.
As per sources, his first noteworthy multi-year contract was with Paul Millsap as a general manager.
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Furthermore, Arturas signed a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets on April 13, 2020. Denver showed some of the best performances in the playoffs during his tenure.
And why not? He is deserving of all the appreciation for his hard work. The chemistry and consistency played their game well.
Chicago Bulls
“This is the height of a dream for me, and I am prepared for the challenge that it presents.”
This was something that was delivered by Arturas Karinsovas delivered while joining Chicago Bulls on April 13, 2020.
And as a vice president, he would be responsible for all the decisions made in favor of the Bulls.
After nearly two decades of front office experience, he is fully capable of leading and building winning teams.
Arturas grew up watching Chicago Bulls as a kid. According to the kid from Lithuania, the Bulls represented American Basketball and the NBA.
Not only that, he was a big fan of Michael Jordan when talking about Chicago Bulls. He used to follow him since the 1984 draft, the year when MJ was picked.
Arturas Karnisovas | Personal Life, Wife, and Kids
Coming to the personal aspects of his life, Arturas has been married to his beloved wife Gina for a long time now.
As claimed by sources, the duo met at Seton Hall University and started dating for years. And eventually, they ended up tying the knot.
The couple shares two loving sons: Eric and Michael. The family was formerly settled in New Jersey, but now they have bought a new house in Englewood, Colorado.
Furthermore, there is no such news or rumors about their separation. On the contrary, they seem to live a happy and cheerful life together.
Arturas Karnisovas | Net Worth and Salary
From being an extraordinary player to being a responsible executive, Arturas’ journey has surely provided him with some good earnings. Aligning with the online sources,
Not yet sure, but Arturas Karinsovas is estimated to have a net worth of around $2 million as of 2021.
Moreover, talking about his salary, there are no such exact amounts mentioned on the infobahn, but yes, a typical NBA vice president makes a salary of $201,525. Prior to that, Arturas was doing well as a general manager, scout, or assistant.
Besides, there is no such information on his property and assets, but yes, he got a wealth of experience. He has done a phenomenal job with his vision and practice.
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Arturas Karnisovas | Social Media Presence
This is quite saddening to say, but we cannot catch Arturas on social media. It seems like he is not that social media-friendly and likes to keep his personal life private.
But yes, going through the internet websites and searching on his social media profiles, we certainly found a Fanclub page of Arturas on Twitter.
The link to his Fanclub page is @arturasfanclub. You can log in to the page if you want to know more about him.
Additionally, there is also a Twitter account in his name, but that does not show the authentic sign. On the other hand, the bio does say it is the official account of Arthuras Karnisovas. Click here, and you can surely take a look.
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Arturas Karnisovas | FAQs
Did Arturas Karnisovas play in the NBA?
No, as a player, Arturas failed to grab the NBA’s attention. Furthermore, he went undrafted in the 1994 NBA Draft, so he never played in the NBA.
Nevertheless, he is currently serving as the executive vice president of basketball operations of the Chicago Bulls. Moreover, Karnisovas was also the general manager of the Denver Nuggets in 2017.
The Lithuanian player is quite known for signing four-time NBA All-Star Paul Millsap to the Nuggets as a manager. In 2013, he was also the assistant general manager of the Denver team.
Did Arturas Karnisovas hire Marc Eversley?
Yes, after watching The Last Dance, emotional Arturas called Eversley right after he finished the movie to tell him that he was hired as the general manager of the Bulls.
How do you pronounce Arturas Karnisovas’ name?
Scanning over the internet pages about him, we addressed a basic quirky and interesting thing. Do people search on how do we pronounce his name?
Therefore, we present you with a video that will help you with the pronunciation.
