G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Vipers Acquire Vanags in 2023 International G League Draft

June 28, 2023 - NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


EDINBURG, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the NBA G League Affiliate of the Houston Rockets, announced today that the team has acquired the rights to Latvia native and forward Ricards Vanags as the 10th overall pick during the 2023-24 NBA G League International Draft.

Vanags (6-8, 182lbs.) spent the last four seasons playing in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. During the 2022-23 season he formed part of Betsafe/Liepaja where he appeared in 29 games (25 of which he started) averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

Prior to that, he formed part of the U20 Euro Championship B Tournament as part of the Latvia National Team where the team finished in sixth. The forward averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes.

During the 2021-22 season Vanags played in 25 games for Rapla BS in which he averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.0 minutes. In 2021 he formed part of the U19 World Cup with the Latvia National Team. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 20.3 minutes of playing time within seven games.

He played for Valga Maks from 2019-20. In 15 games he averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 20.9 minutes.

In 2018-19 Vanags appeared in 21 games for BK Jekabpils averaging 3.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 11.7 minutes. Vanags formed part of the U16 Euro Championship A Tournament in 2018 where Latvia finished in eighth place.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the 2023-24 season visit www.rgvipers.com.

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