Rīgas Zeļļi

Rīgas Zeļļi is a professional basketball team based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in the summer of 2023.^[1]

Rīgas Zeļļi
Nickname	Zeļļi
Leagues	Latvian–Estonian Basketball League Latvian Basketball League
Founded	2023
Arena	Daugavas Sporta Nams Xiaomi Arena
Capacity	1,000 12,500
Location	Riga, Latvia
Team colors	Pink, blue
President	Edgars Buļs
General manager	Artūrs Šēnhofs
Head coach	Juris Umbraško
Website	rigaszelli.lv
Home Away

History

News of the planned team began appearing in April 2023 with Kristaps Janičenoks voicing support for their inclusion in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.^[2] The team was intended as a privately financed club with key sponsors including Riga Technical University, Betsafe, Sportland, Dienas Bizness, Sporta Avīze, and Cēsu pilsētas sporta skola identified.^[2]

On July 13, 2023, it was announced that a new team named Rīgas Zeļļi will take part in Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, Latvian Basketball League and Latvian Basketball Cup. Its president is sports manager Edgars Buļs and former player Artūrs Šēnhofs is taking the role of a general manager. Previously, both worked together as hosts of a basketball show "Ūdenszeļļi" on television.

Club offers everyone to become its member by donating money, in return having a word in teams' decisions. It has also created a mobile app for a team to communicate with teams' management. It presents itself as the most innovative sports organizations in Latvia.^[3]

On July 14, 2023, it was announced that the head coach of the team will be Juris Umbraško.^[4]

On September 19, Andris Biedriņš, the first Latvian basketball player ever drafted in the NBA, joined the club as its ambassador.^[5]

On September 30, 2023, Zeļļi played the first official game in a team's history beating Keila Coolbet in Arena Riga.^[6]

The first foreign player signed by Zeļļi was Georgian forward George Natsvlishvili.^[7] After the start of debut season Rīgas Zeļļi signed an American point guard Nigel Johnson.^[8] Later he was replaced by Canadian shooting guard Isiah Osborne.^[9]

On January 20, 2024, Rīgas Zeļļi announced that the team was joined by Aleksandrs Samoilovs, a two-time European silver medalist in Beach volleyball.^[10] It was meant to be a marketing campaign and he actually played in only one game, scoring two points against KK Viimsi.^[11]

On February 29, 2024, Rīgas Zeļļi signed a long-standing center of the Latvian national team Mārtiņš Meiers until the end of the season.^[12] 10 days later team also signed Australian center Jordan Hunter.^[13]

Players

Current roster

Rīgas Zeļļi roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age PG 1 Juris Vītols 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 20 – (2005-07-29)29 July 2005 PG 3 Toms Skuja 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 23 – (2002-01-02)2 January 2002 SG 8 Roberts Bērziņš 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 24 – (2001-01-10)10 January 2001 G 10 Rolands Šulcs 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 19 – (2006-01-06)6 January 2006 SG 15 Uģis Pinete (C) 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 34 – (1991-02-15)15 February 1991 SF 32 Dāvids Vīksne 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 24 – (2000-12-05)5 December 2000 PF Rodijs Mačoha 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 22 – (2002-10-29)29 October 2002 PF Frank Champion 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 23 – (2002-07-04)4 July 2002 PG Raivo Kudrjavcevs 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 17 – (2008-07-15)15 July 2008 SF Frankie Fidler 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 99 kg (218 lb) 22 – (2003-04-25)25 April 2003	Head coach Juris Umbraško Assistant coach(es) Dāvis Čoders Oskars Zurkovs Mārtiņš Fomins Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: August 4, 2025

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C
PF	Rodijs Mačoha	Frank Champion
SF	Dāvids Vīksne	Frankie Fidler	Uģis Pinete
SG	Roberts Bērziņš	Rolands Šulcs
PG	Toms Skuja	Juris Vītols	Raivo Kudrjavcevs

Squad changes for the 2025–26 season

In Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality. No. Pos. Nat. Player PF  LVA Rodijs Mačoha (from BK Liepāja) PF  USA Frank Champion (from North Georgia Nighthawks) PG  LVA Raivo Kudrjavcevs (from Ekselences centrs) SF  USA Frankie Fidler (from Michigan State Spartans)

Out Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality. No. Pos. Nat. Player 7 C  LVA Krišs Helmanis (to Diablos Rojos del México) 12 PF  LVA Kristers Skrinda (to Stanford Cardinals) 24 PF  LVA Rolands Freimanis (to Al_Rayyan) 20 PG  USA Robert Ford III (to Stade Rochelais) 22 PF  LVA Francis Lācis (to free agent) 14 C  LVA Zigmārs Raimo (to free agent) 17 SG  LVA Dans Galdiņš (to free agent)

Historical rosters

2024–25 season roster
Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	#7 Krišs Helmanis	#24 Rolands Freimanis
PF	#14 Zigmārs Raimo	#22 Francis Lācis	#12 Kristers Skrinda
SF	#32 Dāvids Vīksne	#15 Uģis Pinete C	#17 Dans Galdiņš
SG	#8 Roberts Bērziņš	#10 Rolands Šulcs
PG	#3 Toms Skuja	#20 Robert Ford III	#1 Juris Vītols

Coaches

• Juris Umbraško 2023–present

Honours

• Latvian League:
  • Runners-up (1): 2024
  • Bronze (1): 2025
• Latvian Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 2024
• Latvian–Estonian League
  • Runners-up (1): 2025

Season by season

Season	Tier	Division	Pos.	Latvian Cup	Regional competitions		European competitions
2023–24	1	LBL	Runner-up	Runner-up	Estonian-Latvian Basketball League	6th
2024–25	1	LBL	Bronze	Semifinal	Estonian-Latvian Basketball League	Runner-up