Modestas Paulauskas

In the middle of the twentieth century, Soviet sports flourished thanks to the most talented athletes from all republics. Among them is the legend of Soviet basketball Modestas Paulauskas - master of sports, Olympic champion, two-time world champion, winner of four gold medals at the European Championships. The purposefulness of this basketball player is set as an example for modern athletes by coaches from Russia and the CIS countries.

Modestas Feliksovich Paulauskas was born in the city of Kretinga (Republic of Lithuania, USSR) on March 19, 1945. Nothing is known about the parents of the future basketball player Felix and Ona Paulauskas. Modestas (the boy's family name was Modya) became the fourth child. Modestas himself recalls that parents with two older sons and a daughter during the war were evacuated to the village to live with their maternal grandparents.

On the eve of the victory in March 1945, the Paulauskas family returned to their hometown of Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea coast. Felix and One were driving with their children through the nondescript town of Kretinga, where Modestas was born on the way. In the athlete's passport, Kretinga is indicated as his place of birth, and he himself considers Klaipeda to be his small homeland.

The energetic and proactive Modestas tried himself in all kinds of sports, but he liked basketball. As a child, he did not let go of the ball, and when his father installed a wire ring in the cramped kitchenette that imitated a basketball basket, the boy was completely delighted. Everything went to the basket: balls, toys, shoes.

However, little Modestas had someone to take an example from, because the boy's brother Edmundas played for the city's national basketball team and since 1957 began to systematically take his younger brother to training.

After graduating from school, the young man already knew that he would devote his life to sports, but still entered the Polytechnic Institute in Kaunas, as he avoided being drafted into the ranks of the armed forces.

Modestas was barely 14 years old when he first got into serious sports competitions, where he received the title of best player and an invitation to the Lithuanian national basketball team. Having already become a successful adult athlete, Paulauskas fondly recalled his first coach Vladas Knashius. The team, where 17-year-old Modestas played, won the national championship in part thanks to the guy's talent and skills. For his excellent game Modestas received the title of the best player.

“Zalgiris” was the leader among the successful basketball clubs in Lithuania. In 1962, the team was replaced by a coach, this post was taken by Vytautas Bimba. It was the new coach who brought the young Paulauskas to the team. Considering that Zalgiris was the only Lithuanian club in the USSR championship, and Modestas was quickly appreciated by both the coach and the team's staff as an irreplaceable player, the fame of a promising and talented basketball player quickly spread throughout the Union. In narrow circles “Zalgiris” began to be called unofficially the Paulauskas club. Although the club did not lead in the championships of the Soviet Union, the guys played with dignity in the Major League and twice took the third place in the championship.

The coaches of the USSR national team drew attention to Modestas, who plays for Zalgiris. So Paulauskas started playing in international tournaments, defending the honor of the Soviet Union. As part of the national team, the young man was preparing for the Olympics, but was suspended. Modestas decided that all his victories were still ahead and began active preparations for the European Youth Championship, where the team led by Paulauskas took first place.

After striker Yuri Korneev left the team, the head coach suggested Modestas, who had previously played in defense, try his hand at attack. So the basketball player took the position of a light forward.

In 1965, Paulauskas as part of the national team went to the European Championship, where Alexander Gomelsky made a bet on the Lithuanian and was not mistaken - the team returned home with gold medals, and Modestas also received the title of the best player. And after the national team won the world championship, the Lithuanian basketball player was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports.

Four years later, Paulauskas took over the post of captain of the USSR national team, where he spent five years. And after taking the third place in the continental championship in 1969, Modestas, together with Sergei Belov, joined the world basketball team, that is, he was recognized as the best basketball player in the world.

In total, Modestas Paulauskas' sports biography contains seven gold medals, three bronze medals and a state award - the Order of the Badge of Honor.

At the age of 34, the athlete began his coaching career. At first he prepared the youth national team from Angola for international competitions, then he returned to the already native Lithuanian “Zalgiris” as a coach. In the early 2000s, Modestas Feliksovich opened his own sports center in Lithuania, and then moved to Russia to work with gifted children in the Kaliningrad region. Thanks to his contribution to the development of Russian sports, the Lithuanian was awarded the medal "For Services to the Kaliningrad Region".

The athlete never spoke about his family life, and even now little is known about her. The wife of Modestas is named Enina Paulauskas, and the couple had two sons, Modestas and Nerius.

Given the age of the athlete, Modestas himself has not had to play for a long time, and his coaching career does not attract close public attention to him, because his personality was in the shadows for some time. Until in 2017 the film "Moving Up" was released on Russian television screens.

The film, directed by Anton Megerdichev, tells the audience about the events at the Olympics in the summer of 1972. The plot is based on a historical match between the national teams of the USSR and the USA, and the script was written based on the materials of the autobiographical book of another basketball player - Sergei Belov.

The role of Modestas in the film was played by actor James Tratas. James is originally from Lithuania, as is his character. The stately and attractive Tratas outwardly resembles Modestas in the photo of a young basketball player. In the film, the director showed Paulauskas' vivid anti-Soviet attitude and even his desire to emigrate, but the athlete himself emphasizes that these facts do not correspond to reality at all - he always had a warm attitude towards Russia, still works as a basketball coach with children and youth in the Kaliningrad region, although and lives in Lithuania.

But at the same time, Modestas Feliksovich emphasizes that the film belongs to the genre of fiction, not documentary films, and therefore it is pointless to find fault with inaccuracies. The athlete was satisfied with the work of Anton Megerdichev, like most of the inhabitants of Lithuania.

1965 - European Championship gold medal 1967 - World Championship gold medal 1967 - European championship gold medal 1968 - Olympic bronze medal 1969 - European championship gold medal 1970 - World championship bronze medal 1971 - European championship gold medal 1972 - Olympic gold medal 1973 - bronze medal of the European Championship 1974 - gold medal of the world championship

Modestas Paulauskas ' estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Modestas Paulauskas in 2020?

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2021

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.8M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $757K - $1.9M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2020

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.7M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $849.8K - $1.8M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2019

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.8M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $664.6K - $1.4M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2018

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.8M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $749.5K - $1.8M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2017

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.7M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $978.5K - $1.2M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2016

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.9M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $891.2K - $1.7M.

Modestas Paulauskas Net Worth 2015

Modestas Paulauskas 's revenue is $1.2M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Modestas Paulauskas and could vary in the range between $592.9K - $1.6M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Modestas Paulauskas. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Modestas Paulauskas makes a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Modestas Paulauskas's projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.