Rimas Kurtinaitis - Townsville Suns

Next up on our list of Townsville Suns legends is the first non-US import in the NBL, Rimas Kurtinaitis.

Rimas Kurtinaitis signed with the Townsville Suns in 1993, already known as one of the best European 3-point shooters of all time. During his short time in Australia, Rimas hit 5 or more threes in 6 of his 21 NBL games, including a game against the Adelaide 36ers when he scored a career high 41 points. Kurtinaitis averaged 24.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.7 triples per game.

To grab your very own Rimas t-shirt:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/rimas-kurtinaitis-classic-A13670835/customize/color/135

 

Townsville Suns t-shirts

Gather round and let me tell you about a time when the NBL was booming, so much so the NBA felt threatened by its popularity! (Ok, I’m exaggerating a touch but I’ll explain shortly)

After several years of campaigning, Townsville entered th...e NBL in the ’93 season adopting the name of their state league team, the Suns.

The Suns got off to a slow start in the NBL losing their first four games and didn’t make the playoffs until they later changed their name. Despite not getting too many wins, they were fun to watch and the people of Townsville got behind the team selling out their first 69 games!

In ’98 the team was involved in a dispute with the NBA's Phoenix Suns, who held the "Suns" trademark in Australia. Faced with the prospect of paying Phoenix royalties on merchandise sales, the team changed its name to the Townsville Crocodiles.

Representing the birth of the NBL in Townsville for the Suns in our “Legends” series are Ricky “Rainman” Jones, Clarence “The Elevator” Tyson, Derek “I’ve been everywhere man” Rucker and Rimas “we’re surprised we managed to fit his name on a t-shirt” Kurtinaitis.

Townsville, its time to represent, show your support for the history of your team. Like, share and shop!

Check out our store for team six of the "Legends" range:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/