Sasha Kaun

Alexander "Sasha" Olegovich Kaun (Russian: Александр Олегович Каун, born May 8, 1985) is a Russian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball in the United States for the University of Kansas for four seasons, where he won an NCAA championship in 2008 before being selected with the 56th overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA draft. He played seven seasons in Russia for CSKA Moscow. In 2015, he returned to the United States and played his only NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he won an NBA championship in 2015–16. Kaun became one of the first Russians, along with Timofey Mozgov, in NBA history to win an NBA championship. He also represented Russia in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In this Eastern Slavic name, the patronymic is Olegovich and the family name is Kaun.
Sasha Kaun
Kaun at the 2011 PBL All-Star Game
Personal information
Born (1985-05-08) May 8, 1985
Tomsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlorida Air Academy
(Melbourne, Florida)
CollegeKansas (2004–2008)
NBA draft2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 56th overall
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career2008–2016
PositionCenter
Number24, 14
Career history
2008–2015CSKA Moscow
2015–2016Cleveland Cavaliers
2016→Canton Charge
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Russia
Olympic Games
2012 LondonTeam

High school

In high school at the Florida Air Academy, Kaun averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game as a junior and 15.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per game as a senior. He led his team to a 23–0 record and to the Florida state championships.

College career

During the fall of 2003, Kaun committed to the University of Kansas. He also received offers from Duke and Michigan State.

During his freshman season with the Kansas Jayhawks, he played in 27 games, starting twice. In his sophomore season he helped the Jayhawks to an 80–68 win against the Texas Longhorns, which made the Jayhawks the 2006 Big 12 Conference champions. During his senior year, he was the starting center for the Jayhawks and with them he won the 2008 NCAA Championship. He graduated with a degree in computer science and was selected to the Academic All Big 12 Basketball Team three times, in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Professional career

CSKA Moscow (2008–2015)

Kaun was drafted 56th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He was the final draft pick in Sonics history, before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. His NBA draft rights were then traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for cash considerations.[1]

He signed a three-year contract worth €2,700,000 with the Russian team CSKA Moscow in 2008.[2][3] On May 23, 2012, Kaun re-signed his contract with CSKA, staying three more seasons with the team.[4]

In the 2014–15 season, CSKA Moscow has managed to advance to the Euroleague Final Four for fourth straight season, after eliminating Panathinaikos for the second straight season in the quarter-final series, 3–1.[5] However, in the semifinal game, despite being dubbed by media as an absolute favorite to advance, once again lost to Olympiacos. The final score was 70–68, after an Olympiacos comeback in 4th quarter, led by Vassilis Spanoulis.[6] CSKA Moscow eventually won the third place after defeating Fenerbahçe with 86–80.[7] In his "contract year", Kaun had the best season since coming in the club, starting in all 30 games played in the Euroleague and averaging a career-high 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds on 69.1% shooting from the field.

After winning his fifth VTB United League championship with CSKA, there were some reports that Kaun had retired from professional basketball.[8][9] A day later, Kaun denied these reports, adding that he was, however, done playing basketball in Europe.[10]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2015–2016)

On September 9, 2015, Kaun signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[11] He made his debut for the Cavaliers on October 28, recording one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block in a 106–76 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[12] Over the first half of the 2015–16 season, Kaun appeared in just nine games for the Cavaliers, scoring a season-high four points on two occasions.[13] On April 11, 2016, Kaun was assigned to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers' D-League affiliate,[14] for a day of training.[15] He was reassigned to Canton the next day to help the team in Game 1 of the D-League Eastern Conference Finals against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[16] The next day, he was recalled by the Cavaliers.[17] Kaun did not play a single game for the Cavaliers during their playoff run, a run that ended with the Cavaliers defeating the Golden State Warriors 4–3 in the 2016 NBA Finals to win the championship. Kaun and his teammate, Timofey Mozgov, became the first Russians to win an NBA championship.

On July 15, 2016, Kaun was traded, along with cash considerations, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum.[18] He was waived by the 76ers on July 17,[19] and six days later, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.[20]

Russian national team

Kaun was a member of the senior Russian national basketball team, and was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Kaun is married to Taylor Kaun (née Blue), a former soccer player at the University of Kansas.[21]

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

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

† Won NBA championship
League leader

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16† Cleveland 2503.8.529.000.4551.0.1.2.2.9
Career 2503.8.529.000.4551.0.1.2.2.9

Euroleague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2008–09 CSKA Moscow 1005.1.429.000.4171.5.1.0.31.11.2
2009–10 211722.4.713.000.5694.6.6.41.09.111.5
2011–12 21411.4.712.000.5162.0.1.4.24.34.0
2012–13 302720.8.716.000.5204.0.5.41.28.110.8
2013–14 301618.4.701.000.5903.5.5.8.88.411.2
2014–15 303020.1.691.000.6734.5.5.4.99.913.7
Career 1439417.8.702.000.5813.6.4.5.87.69.8

References
  1. "Cavaliers Acquire Draft Rights to Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun". NBA.com. June 26, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  2. "CSKA signs Terence Morris, Sasha Kaun". Euroleague.net. June 22, 2008.
  3. "Kaun signs with CSKA". Kuathletics.cstv.com. June 24, 2008.
  4. "CSKA re-signs Alexander Kaun". cskabasket.com. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  5. "CSKA Moscow routs Panathinaikos to claim Final Four berth". euroleague.net. April 22, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  6. "Spanoulis comes through again as Olympiacos stuns CSKA". euroleague.net. May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  7. "CSKA Moscow beats Fenerbahce in third-place game". eurolague.net. May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  8. "Former Kansas center Sasha Kaun retires from pro basketball at the age of 30". The Kansas City Star. June 8, 2015.
  9. "Sasha Kaun anuncia su retirada". acb.com (in Spanish). June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  10. Bedore, Gary (June 9, 2015). "Former KU center Sasha Kaun has not retired from professional basketball". kusports.com. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  11. "Cavs Sign Center Sasha Kaun". NBA.com. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  12. "Love leads Cavaliers past Grizzlies 106-76". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  13. "Sasha Kaun 2015-16 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  14. "Cavs Assign Sasha Kaun to Canton Charge". NBA.com. April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  15. "Cavs Recall Kaun and McRae". NBA.com. April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. "Cavaliers Assign Kaun and McRae to Canton Charge". NBA.com. April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  17. "Cavs Recall Kaun and McRae - April 13, 2016". NBA.com. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  18. "Sixers Complete Trade With Cleveland". NBA.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  19. "Sixers waive Sasha Kaun". philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  20. Bedore, Gary (July 23, 2016). "Former Jayhawk Kaun reveals retirement". kusports.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  21. Pluto, Terry. Cleveland Cavaliers can thank Danny Ferry for the addition of Sasha Kaun -- Terry Pluto, Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 25, 2015.
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