VITORIA (Turkish Airlines Euroleague/EuroBasket 2015) - Davis Bertans only just turned 22 years of age but he has already experienced a lot in his basketball life.

While just a teenager three and a half years ago, Bertans became one of the most celebrated prospects in Latvian basketball history when the Indiana Pacers selected him with the 42nd pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

They immediately traded those rights to the San Antonio Spurs.

Bertans soon after linked up with his Latvia national team and made his EuroBasket bow in neighboring Lithuania, averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds while playing for coach Ainars Bagatskis, a man who was one of his country's most famous players.

His career was on the up.

But in June of 2013, while playing for Partizan Belgrade, Bertans tore his right ACL and had to hit the sidelines for nine months.

He is playing again now, this time for Spanish club Laboral Kutxa and is showing the same confidence and talent, especially his long-range shooting, that helped put the 2.08m forward on the map.

Averaging more than 11 points per game and shooting well from behind the arc (22 of 63, 34.9 percent), Bertans helped Laboral overcome a difficult stretch to reach the Top 16 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

Making it through tough times is something that Bertans is accustomed to.

"I've had a lot of problems since (EuroBasket 2011)," he said to FIBA.com, "but I just kept the goal in my mind, kept pushing myself and I think that has been the biggest motivation.

"I had a great rehab and came back stronger and better.

"The rehab was probably the hardest part but in the end, I had expected something harder. In the end, it came very easy, those nine months." 

Playing in Spain has so far been good for Bertans.

One of the bonuses to being in Vitoria is that he is close to his brother, Bilbao point guard Dairis Bertans.

On 2 November, he had 19 points in a win over Manresa and was named Player of the Week.

Bertans did not expect to experience a coaching change with Laboral this season but with the team struggling and looking as if it was going to crash out of the Euroleague, Marco Crespi was shown the door in mid-November and assistant Ibon Navarro replaced him at the helm.

The Vitoria outfit then lost at Neptunas Klaipeda but followed with three wins, starting with an upset of Olympiacos in Spain.

They clinched their place in the Top 16 in the penultimate week of the Regular Season, on 9 December, with a home triumph over Valencia.

"I think we just changed the way we play," Bertans said of the turnaround. 

"We started to play more team defense and team basketball on offense and I think that was the key, especially against a team like Olympiacos. 

"That gave us huge confidence." 

It was a real help for Bertans to have France international point guard Thomas Heurtel as the team's starting point guard.

Heurtel has emerged as a real star the past couple of season and last summer was instrumental in the French team's run to the podium at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

"He helps me a lot, helping me find my best shots and best options on offense," Bertans said. 

"It makes it easier for me to play."

Heurtel gained a lot of notoriety in the France shirt at the World Cup with strong performances, including in an upset of Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

Bertans will have to learn to do without Heurtel because during the Christmas break, he left the Baskonistas for Anadolu Efes.

Latvia fans will be hoping that Bertans wears the national team shirt this summer.

Riga will host Group D games and the city is buzzing.

"When the season is over and I see what's going to happen the next season, I'll make that decision."

I want to play. If I can play, I want to 100 percent help the national team. - Bertans

When he was going through his rehab, Bertans was driven by the desire to show he can play with the best players in the best league, the NBA.

That is still at the front of his thoughts. 

"I have a three-year contract but there is an NBA buyout after every season," he said. 

"San Antonio own my NBA rights.

"I got lucky that my rights got traded to San Antonio.

"That’s my goal."

For now, the important thing for Bertans is to keep learning what it takes to win basketball games.

He is in a good situation, playing basketball in a tough Spanish Liga Endesa and the Euroleague.

"We just need to keep pushing ourselves forward," he said. 

"It’s all going to add up and I think we can do big things."

FIBA