One of the most famous Latvian basketball players of the last decade, Dairis Bertāns, has announced his retirement from professional basketball. The former captain of the national team made this announcement during the broadcast of the program "Sporta Studija" on the LTV1 channel. Although he played his last match for the national team back in November of last year, the official statement regarding his retirement from basketball has only been made now. According to Bertāns, he consciously chose not to announce his retirement immediately after his last game. "The last match has already been played. It was important for me that the last game for the national team became a beautiful emotional moment. It wouldn’t make sense to repeat something like that again," said the basketball player. Bertāns' last match with the national team was a World Cup qualifying game against the Netherlands, which took place on November 28. At the club level, he represented VEF Rīga last season and was appointed as the sports director of the Latvian men's national team in the summer. Throughout his career, Bertāns played for a number of clubs in Latvia and abroad. After starting his career at Valmiera, ASK/"Juniors", ASK Rīga, Ventspils, and VEF Rīga, he played in Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Russia. In the 2018/19 season, the guard also played 12 games in the NBA for the New Orleans Pelicans. Bertāns left the most significant mark on the Latvian national team. From 2010 to 2025, he played 159 matches for the national team, participated in five European Championships and the World Championship. Earlier, he represented Latvia in five youth European Championships and won a bronze medal at the continental championship for players under 18 in 2007. For Latvian basketball, Bertāns' retirement signifies the departure of another player from a generation that elevated the national team to a new level of international success. At the same time, his role as a sports director will allow him to continue contributing to the development of the national team off the court.
