Janar Talts

Janar Talts (born 7 April 1983) is a former Estonian professional basketball player who is the sporting director of University of Tartu basketball team. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he played at the power forward and center positions. He represented the Estonian national basketball team internationally.

Janar Talts

Talts in 2006
University of Tartu
Position	Sporting director
League	Latvian–Estonian Basketball League
Personal information
Born	(1983-04-07) 7 April 1983 (age 42) Tallinn, Estonia
Listed height	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Career information
NBA draft	2005: undrafted
Playing career	2001–2019
Career history
2001–2002	TTÜ-A. Le Coq
2002–2004	Tallinna Kalev
2004–2007	RheinEnergie Köln
2007–2010	University of Tartu
2011	Krasnye Krylya Samara
2011–2013	Cimberio Varese
2013–2018	University of Tartu
2018–2019	Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ
Career highlights
4× Estonian League champion (2003, 2008, 2010, 2015) German League champion (2006) 4× Estonian Cup winner (2009, 2010, 2013, 2014) 2× German Cup winner (2005, 2007) German Super Cup winner (2006) Baltic Basketball League Cup winner (2010) Estonian League Finals MVP (2010) Estonian Cup MVP (2014) 2× Estonian League Best Defender (2015, 2016) 6× Estonian League First Team (2008–2010, 2014, 2015, 2018) 2× Estonian League All-Star (2002, 2018)

Professional career

Talts began his professional career in 2001 with TTÜ-A. Le Coq of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga.

In 2002, Talts signed for the Estonian champions Tallinna Kalev. With Tallinna Kalev, he won his first Estonian Championship in the 2002–03 season, after Tallinna Kalev defeated TTÜ/A. Le Coq 4 games to 2 in the KML Finals.

In 2004, Talts joined RheinEnergie Köln of the Basketball Bundesliga, where he signed for the next three seasons. RheinEnergie Köln won the German Championship in the 2005–06 season, after defeating Alba Berlin 3 games to 1 in the Finals. RheinEnergie Köln competed in the 2006–07 Euroleague season, but failed to advance past the group stage with a 2–12 record. Talts averaged 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

In 2007, Talts returned to Estonia and signed for TÜ/Rock. TÜ/Rock reached Final Four in the 2007–08 FIBA EuroCup season, but were defeated in the semifinals by Barons LMT 82–88 and in the third place game by AEL Limassol 70–79. Talts won his second Estonian Championship in the 2007–08 season, after TÜ/Rock swept Kalev/Cramo in the KML Finals and was named to the All-KML Team. After finishing the 2008–09 season as runners-up, TÜ/Rock won the 2009–10 Estonian League championship, defeating Kalev/Cramo in the Finals. Talts was named Finals Most Valuable Player and was also named to the All-KML Team.^[1][2]

On 30 December 2010, Talts left TÜ/Rock to join Krasnye Krylya Samara of the Russian Professional Basketball League. Talts left Krasnye Krylya Samara after only three months and joined Cimberio Varese of the Serie A.

On 15 August 2013, returned to TÜ/Rock. TÜ/Rock finished the 2013–14 season as runners-up. Talts averaged 10.81 points and 6.39 rebounds during the season and was named to the All-KML Team.^[3] He won his fourth Estonian Championship in the 2014–15 season, after TÜ/Rock defeated Kalev/Cramo in the KML Finals, winning the series 4 games to 1.^[4] Talts won the Best Defender Award and was named to the All-KML Team.^[5] TÜ/Rock failed to defend the title in the 2015–16 season, losing to Kalev/Cramo in the KML Finals, but Talts was once again named Best Defender.^[6][7][8]

Estonian national team

As a member of the senior Estonian national basketball team, Talts competed at the EuroBasket 2015, averaging 10.4 points, 0.4 assists, and 4 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game. Estonia finished the tournament in 20th place.^[9]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance index rating
Bold	Career high

Euroleague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2006–07	RheinEnergie	13	11	16.3	.283	.172	.636	3.2	.5	.3	.6	2.9	1.2
Career		13	11	16.3	.283	.172	.636	3.2	.5	.3	.6	2.9	1.2

Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

Tallinna Kalev

• Estonian League champion: 2003

RheinEnergie Köln

• German League champion: 2006
• 2× German Cup champion: 2005, 2007
• German Super Cup champion: 2006

TÜ/Rock

• 3× Estonian League champion: 2008, 2010, 2015
• 4× Estonian Cup champion: 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
• BBL Cup champion: 2010

Individual

• KML Finals Most Valuable Player: 2010
• 2× KML Best Defender: 2015, 2016
• 6× All-KML Team: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018
• 2× KML All-Star: 2002, 2018