2022–23 LKL season

The 2022–23 Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also called Betsafe-LKL for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th season of the top-tier level professional basketball league of Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). Rytas were defending champions, however, they finished as a runners-up, losing finals series to eventual champions Žalgiris.

Betsafe-LKL
Season	2022–23
Duration	24 September 2022 – 9 May 2023 (Regular season) 12 May 2023 – 10 June 2023 (Playoffs)
Games played	224
Teams	12
Regular season
Season MVP	Ahmad Caver
Finals
Champions	Žalgiris (24th title)
Runners-up	Rytas
Third place	7Bet–Lietkabelis
Fourth place	Cbet
Finals MVP	Isaiah Taylor
Statistical leaders
Points Ahmad Caver 17.09 Rebounds Austin Wiley 8.91 Assists Donatas Sabeckis 7.00 Index Rating Ahmad Caver 20.33
Records
Biggest home win	Rytas 118–73 Pieno žvaigždės (29 March 2023)
Biggest away win	Labas Gas 57–94 Žalgiris (3 April 2023)
Highest scoring	Nevėžis–Optibet 143–134 Uniclub Casino – Juventus (22 April 2023)
Winning streak	10 games Žalgiris
Losing streak	16 games Labas Gas
Highest attendance	14,077 Žalgiris 97–87 Rytas (10 June 2023)
Lowest attendance	100 Pieno žvaigždės 78–87 Neptūnas (22 April 2023)
Average attendance	1,667

Teams

Location and arenas

On 20 May 2022, during 2021–22 LKL season LKL board decided to expand the number of participating teams in tournament. The number of teams has been expanded to 12 teams. 2021-22 NKL season champions Gargždai and new team Wolves will join the other 10 existing LKL teams.^[1]

Jonava

Juventus

Lietkabelis

Neptūnas

Nevėžis

Pieno žvaigždės

Prienai

Rytas

Šiauliai

Žalgiris

Gargždai

Wolves

Location of teams in 2022–23 LKL

Team	Location	Arena	Capacity
Cbet Jonava	Jonava	Jonava Arena	2,200
Gargždai	Palanga	Palanga Arena	1,200
Labas Gas	Prienai	Prienai Arena	1,500
7bet-Lietkabelis	Panevėžys	Cido/Kalnapilio Arena	5,950
Neptūnas	Klaipėda	Švyturys Arena	6,200
Nevėžis-OPTIBET	Kėdainiai	Kėdainiai Arena	2,200
Pieno žvaigždės	Pasvalys	Pieno žvaigždės Arena	1,500
Rytas	Vilnius	Jeep Arena	2,500
Šiauliai	Šiauliai	Šiauliai Arena	5,700
Uniclub Casino – Juventus	Utena	Utena Arena	2,000
Wolves	Alytus	Alytus Arena	5,500
Žalgiris	Kaunas	Žalgiris Arena	15,415
	Prienai	Prienai Arena	1,500
	Garliava	Garliava Sports and Culture Center [lt]	1,300

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification or relegation
1	Žalgiris	33	28	5	2875	2406	+469	Advance to playoffs
2	Rytas	33	27	6	3070	2731	+339
3	Wolves	33	23	10	2851	2599	+252
4	7Bet–Lietkabelis	33	23	10	2834	2689	+145
5	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	33	18	15	2859	2853	+6
6	Cbet	33	18	15	2657	2663	−6
7	Neptūnas	33	16	17	2652	2722	−70
8	Nevėžis–Optibet	33	14	19	2860	2912	−52
9	Šiauliai	33	13	20	2744	2852	−108
10	Pieno žvaigždės	33	8	25	2632	2963	−331
11	Gargždai	33	6	27	2501	2785	−284
12	Labas Gas (R)	33	4	29	2613	2973	−360	Relegation to NKL

Source: LKL.lT
(R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	LIE	JSK	GAR	PRI	NEP	NEV	PZV	RYT	SIA	JUV	WOL	ZAL
7Bet–Lietkabelis	—	86–84	82–73	74–86	80–73	111–108	86–74	79–70	94–103	91–71	92–96	66–74
—	85–72	—	81–75	73–81	—	95–90	—	—	—	—	87–85
Cbet	88–91	—	92–85	74–85	83–66	71–64	84–77	62–75	74–82	82–84	80–62	75–80
—	—	67–65	—	—	89–78	—	81–106	—	76–88	74–85	82–89
Gargždai	71–91	68–69	—	74–71	54–73	71–73	79–69	81–99	76–78	68–85	68–73	71–89
65–86	—	—	—	—	73–87	—	—	56–60	77–76	85–82	—
Labas Gas	77–96	74–80	68–95	—	92–99	86–98	89–92	66–89	63–81	68–92	78–88	66–91
—	69–72	90–77	—	84–94	—	85–91	86–97	—	—	—	57–94
Neptūnas	73–86	77–93	94–69	80–75	—	86–79	91–92	70–82	93–79	98–97	100–80	71–79
—	76–70	91–86	—	—	97–91	—	86–90	—	—	75–104	80–91
Nevėžis–Optibet	73–78	91–83	99–92	89–81	67–71	—	83–65	84–86	81–92	71–74	76–81	69–97
77–90	—	—	112–105	—	—	—	—	91–81	143–134	81–88	—
Pieno žvaigždės	71–77	90–92	97–92	115–110	91–85	84–93	—	72–107	75–76	80–87	71–90	59–92
—	98–100	89–78	—	78–87	98–88	—	75–104	—	—	—	61–88
Rytas	109–104	71–78	102–72	98–77	93–67	88–92	118–73	—	107–101	77–88	76–88	89–85
92–91	—	91–65	—	—	99–93	—	—	109–84	103–101	102–98	—
Šiauliai	85–88	85–89	92–99	97–89	61–60	95–107	81–65	80–85	—	85–92	107–102	75–93
80–89	73–84	—	114–87	87–89	—	95–89	—	—	—	—	—
Uniclub Casino – Juventus	87–84	88–78	92–90	94–76	95–77	84–85	93–77	88–90	85–84	—	81–86	67–78
91–93	—	—	86–90	85–83	—	84–81	—	89–80	—	—	—
Wolves	80–86	94–99	96–82	79–70	79–63	94–73	76–69	89–91	89–78	95–68	—	80–75
70–65	—	—	94–58	—	—	94–63	—	83–73	106–79	—	—
Žalgiris	85–77	76–80	86–74	86–80	77–46	93–75	84–61	94–100	96–60	109–76	90–85	—
—	—	96–70	—	—	95–89	—	81–75	84–60	92–78	71–65	—

Source: LKL.LT
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Playoffs

Main article: 2023 LKL Playoffs

Quarterfinals will be played in a best–of–three format, while the semifinals, third place game and final in a best-of-five format. ^[2]

Bracket

	Quarterfinals								Semifinals								Finals
	Žalgiris			90	92	–
	Nevėžis–Optibet			71	86	–
									Žalgiris	69	86	66	95	–
									7Bet–Lietkabelis	58	83	67	66	–
	7Bet–Lietkabelis			85	77	101
	Uniclub Casino – Juventus			73	86	99
																	Žalgiris	108	71	95	68	97
																	Rytas	93	94	80	69	87
	Rytas			107	95	–
	Neptūnas			99	91	–
									Rytas	82	82	90	–	–
									Cbet	74	67	85	–	–			Third place
	Wolves			76	75	–
	Cbet			80	80	–
																	7Bet–Lietkabelis	80	88	63	75	84
																	Cbet	89	87	82	55	72

2022–23 LKL champions
Žalgiris (24th title)

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Qualification or relegation
1	Žalgiris (C)	44	36	8	Already qualified to EuroLeague
2	Rytas	43	34	9	Qualification to Champions League regular season
3	7Bet–Lietkabelis	45	29	16	Qualification to EuroCup
4	Cbet	43	22	21	Qualification to Champions League qualifying rounds
5	Wolves	35	23	12	Qualification to EuroCup
6	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	36	19	17
7	Neptūnas	35	16	19
8	Nevėžis–Optibet	35	14	21
9	Šiauliai	33	13	20
10	Pieno žvaigždės	33	8	25
11	Gargždai	33	6	27
12	Labas Gas (R)	33	4	29	Relegation to NKL

Source: LKL.lT
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Statistics

Average attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Žalgiris	105,346	14,077	461	4,580	+99.2%†
2	Lietkabelis	50,865	3,970	1,099	2,211	+15.7%†
3	Wolves	33,513	3,957	1,145	1,971	n/a1
4	Rytas	39,120	2,579	1,015	1,778	−16.8%†
5	Šiauliai	28,007	5,037	991	1,750	−17.3%†
6	Neptūnas	28,543	4,422	511	1,585	+65.6%†
7	Cbet Jonava	26,844	2,200	631	1,278	+63.2%†
8	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	21,618	2,632	723	1,271	+43.9%†
9	Nevėžis-OPTIBET	15,126	2,195	450	889	+61.3%†
10	Gargždai	10,719	1,313	294	669	+604.2%2
11	Labas GAS	8,030	1,100	155	472	+49.4%†
12	Pieno žvaigždės	5,860	1,250	100	344	−0.3%†
	League total	373,591	14,077	100	1,667	+34.5%†

Source: LKL.LT
Notes:
1: Team will make its debut.
2: Team played last season in NKL.

Individual statistics

Rating

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Rating	PIR
1.	Ahmad Caver	Wolves	33	671	20.33
2.	Jeff Garrett	Cbet Jonava	43	822	19.12
3.	Martynas Echodas	Rytas	23	439	19.09

Source: LKL.LT

Points

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Points	PPG
1.	Ahmad Caver	Wolves	33	564	17.09
2.	Deshawn Freeman	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	21	351	16.71
3.	Marcus Foster	Rytas	37	612	16.54

Source: LKL.LT

Rebounds

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Rebounds	RPG
1.	Austin Wiley	Neptūnas	23	205	8.91
2.	Giedrius Staniulis	Gargždai	26	198	7.62
3.	Tim Lambrecht	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	35	264	7.54

Source: LKL.LT

Assists

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Assists	APG
1.	Donatas Sabeckis	Šiauliai	31	217	7.00
2.	Žygimantas Janavičius	Neptūnas	32	192	6.03
3.	Ahmad Caver	Wolves	33	191	5.79

Source: LKL.LT

Other statistics

Category	Player	Team	Games	Average
Steals	Alex Hamilton	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	21	2.52
Blocks	Reggie Lynch	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	21	2.24
Turnovers	Joshua Newkirk	Gargždai	33	3.18
Fouls drawn	Artūrs Žagars	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	22	5.50
Minutes	Joshua Newkirk	Gargždai	33	32:41
FT %	Stefan Peno	Lietkabelis	24	94.12%
2-Point %	Laurynas Birutis	Žalgiris	42	75.46%
3-Point %	Kevarrius Hayes	Žalgiris	42	50.00%
	Julius Jucikas	Pieno žvaigždės	20

Source: LKL.LT

Individual game highs

Category	Player	Team	Opponent	Statistic
Rating	Tim Lambrecht	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	Labas Gas (Mar 25, 2023)	45
Points	Mindaugas Girdžiūnas	Neptūnas	Nevėžis–OPTIBET (Dec 12, 2022)	40
Rebounds	Austin Wiley	Neptūnas	Labas Gas (Dec 21, 2022)	24
Assists	Donatas Sabeckis	Šiauliai	Nevėžis–OPTIBET (May 8, 2023)	14
Steals	Evaldas Šaulys	Pieno žvaigždės	Uniclub Casino – Juventus (Dec 22, 2022)	7
	Alex Hamilton	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	Žalgiris (Feb 15, 2023)
Blocks	Reggie Lynch	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	Labas Gas (Mar 18, 2023)	9

Source: LKL.LT

Team statistics

Category	Team	Average
Rating	Rytas	105.98
Points	Rytas	91.84
Rebounds	Rytas	37.88
Assists	Žalgiris	20.70
Steals	Cbet Jonava	8.93
Blocks	Neptūnas	3.23
Turnovers	Uniclub Casino – Juventus	15.78
FT %	Žalgiris	78.55%
2-Point %	Žalgiris	60.32%
3-Point %	Wolves	38.08%

Source: LKL.LT

Awards

All official awards of the 2022-23 LKL season.

Regular Season MVP

Pos.	Player	Team	Source
PG	Ahmad Caver	Wolves	[3]

LKL Finals MVP

Pos.	Player	Team	Source
PG	Isaiah Taylor	Žalgiris	[4]

All-LKL Team

Pos.	Player	Team	Source
PG	Ahmad Caver	Wolves	[4]
SG	Marcus Foster	Rytas
SF	Jeffery Garrett	Cbet Jonava
PF	Martynas Echodas	Rytas
C	Laurynas Birutis	Žalgiris

Coach of the Year

Coach	Team	Source
Virginijus Šeškus	Cbet Jonava	[4]

Breakthrough of the Year

Player	Team	Source
Matas Jogėla	Neptūnas	[4]

Referee of the year

Referee	Source
Gytis Vilius	[4]

"Fair play" award for gentlemanliness in sport and life

Team	Source
Žalgiris	[4]

Player of the month

Month	Player	Team	PIR	Source
2022
October	Jeff Garrett	Cbet Jonava	19.8	[5]
November	Giedrius Staniulis	Gargždai	23.5	[6]
December	Gytis Radzevičius	Rytas	25.7	[7]
2023
January	Martynas Echodas	Rytas	27	[8]
February	Deshawn Freeman	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	28	[9]
March	Tim Lambrecht	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	31.5	[10]
April	Tim Lambrecht	Nevėžis–OPTIBET	22.9	[11]

Lithuanian clubs in European competitions

Team	Competition	Progress
Žalgiris	EuroLeague	Playoffs
Lietkabelis	EuroCup	Eighthfinals
Rytas	Champions League	Round of 16
Šiauliai		Qualifying rounds
Cbet Jonava	FIBA Europe Cup	Qualifying rounds
Wolves		Qualifying rounds

Lithuanian clubs in Regional competitions

Team	Competition	Progress
Wolves	European North Basketball League	Runners-up
Šiauliai		Regular Season