The Lithuanian side has been dealing with a growing injury list in recent weeks.
Austin Hollins joins Zalgiris on a short-term deal
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Zalgiris Kaunas has added another body to its rotation by signing veteran guard Austin Hollins to a three-week contract, the club confirmed on Monday. Once that three-week period is over, the Lithuanian champions will decide whether he will stay with the team until the end of the season. Hollins (1,93 meters, 32 years old) is well known to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, having spent four years in Europe's premier club basketball competition, wearing the jerseys of Zenit St. Petersburg, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Maccabi Playikta Tel Aviv, his last stop.
Austin Hollins adds a defensive presence
An injury derailed Hollins's campaign last year, when he played in just 19 games for less than 10 minutes on average. Scoring-wise, his best season was his first with Zenit, when he averaged 10.4 points per game, but Hollins has been better known for his perimeter defense and speed in the open court, both of which could help Zalgiris.
In his second of two seasons with Zenit, he started 34 games with that defensive role, as Zenit took FC Barcelona to the Game 5 of the 2021 EuroLeague Playoffs. In that series alone, he averaged 7.4 points on 45.0% three-point shooting, and 2.0 rebounds, playing 24 minutes per contest.
Plenty of EuroLeague experience
Over four EuroLeague campaigns, Hollins has made 112 appearances, starting in 71 of those games and averaging 18:52 minutes per game. He has posted 7.6 points, making 53.5% of his two-point shots and knocking down 33.9% from behind the arc. Hollins is also a 85.7% career free-throw shooter, and has 1.8 rebounds per game for his career.
Before moving to the EuroLeague, Hollins also played for Denain Voltaire Basket, a lower division French side where he started his professional career in 2014, followed by one-year stops with Kauhajoki Karhu in Finland, and Giesen 46ers and Rasta Vechta, both in Germany.