Rytas sold its young talents Deividas Sirvydis and Marek Blaževič for buyouts, with Marek in particular being a painful departure, as he left Rytas for Žalgiris. Captain Eimantas Bendžius left the club due to financial reasons, however Martynas Echodas and the new captain Arnas Butkevičius stayed in the team. Donaldas Kairys replaced Dainius Adomaitis in the head coach position. Also, Rytas signed with a former EuroLeague star Andrew Goudelock, Demetrius Jackson, who proved to be a pleasant surprise, Chris McCullough, and Lithuanians Saulius Kulvietis, Rokas Gustys, Gytis Radzevičius, Lukas Uleckas, Augustas Marčiulionis. Due to health reasons, contract with Kulvietis was terminated and he was replaced by Kristjan Kitsing; Maurice Ndour was also signed in October. The season initially started strong for Rytas – at the start of the LKL, Rytas smashed BC Juventus in the opener 106–77, and went on a six-game win streak, thanks to great play from Goudelock and point guard Jackson. The win streak was stopped by Žalgiris Kaunas, who beat Rytas in Vilnius. Problems arose within Rytas, starting with Jackson shockingly leaving Rytas just days after their 2020–21 Basketball Champions League debut due to personal reasons. McCullough had a number of off-court issues, ending with Rytas releasing him in November. Injuries, losses, reported and rumored conflicts between coach Kairys and Rytas players, poor player selection, with Ryan Boatright, replacing Jackson, and center Keith Benson becoming huge failures for Rytas, and by January, Rytas had completely fallen apart – Rytas ended their Champions League campaign after the group stage with a 2–4 record – a huge disappointment for the team. The problems continued – Ndour, one of the few bright spots for Rytas for the season, left Rytas after the exit in the Champions League. Rytas also suffered multiple upset losses in the LKL and in the King Mindaugas Cup, suffered the biggest fiasco of the season, losing to Juventus in the quarter-finals, including an embarrassing 27 point defeat at home. The loss proved to be the final game for coach Kairys, as he was fired immediately after the game, and was replaced by his assistant Giedrius Žibėnas. Rytas also made a few more changes to the roster, releasing Boatright and Benson soon after the firing of Kairys, and signing Ivan Buva as the new center. To the surprise of everyone, under Žibėnas, Rytas made an incredible comeback, winning their next 16 out of 17 games in