Jonas Valančiūnas

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Basketball player
Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valanciunas (26715350158) .jpg
Player information
birthday 6th May 1992 (age 28)
place of birth Utena , Lithuania
size 211 cm
Weight 120 kg
position center
NBA draft 2011 , 5th pick , Toronto Raptors
Club information
society Memphis grizzlies
league NBA
Jersey number 17th
Clubs as active
2008–2010 KK Perlas Vilnius 2010–2012 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius 2012–2019 Toronto Raptors Since 2019 Memphis GrizzliesLithuaniaLithuania
LithuaniaLithuania
CanadaCanada
00United StatesUnited States
National team 1
Since 02011LithuaniaLithuania Lithuania at least 59 games
1 As of September 13, 2017

Jonas Valančiūnas (born May 6, 1992 in Utena ) is a Lithuanian basketball player . The 2.11 meter center has been under contract with the Memphis Grizzlies in the North American professional league NBA since 2019 . He previously worked for the Toronto Raptors for a long time , which drafted him in 2012 .

Club career

Valančiūnas began his adult career at KK Perlas Vilnius . With this club he rose after his first season in 2009 in the highest league in Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga . During the following season Valančiūnas moved to Lietuvos rytas Vilnius . In his first Euroleague appearance, he managed a double-double . In the 2011/12 season he was named the best young player in the Eurocup .

NBA

In the 2011 NBA draft , Valančiūnas was selected in 5th place by the Toronto Raptors , but played another year for Lietuvos rytas before signing a contract with the Raptors in the summer of 2012.

In his first year for the Raptors, Valančiūnas scored 8.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He started from the beginning in almost every game. At the end of the season Valančiūnas was appointed to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team . In his second year Valančiūnas increased to 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds and reached the playoffs with the Raptors, where they were eliminated in the first round. On January 31, 2015 Valančiūnas achieved a career record with 31 points. The season he finished slightly improved with 12.0 points per game. With the Raptors he reached the playoffs again, knocked out against the Washington Wizards again in the first round.

Valančiūnas in the shirt of the Lithuanian national team

Valančiūnas stayed with the Raptors for over six years, where he lost his regular place as nominal center in 2018/19. In February 2019, he was given to the Memphis Grizzlies with CJ Miles and Delon Wright as part of a transfer that brought Marc Gasol to the Raptors .

National team career

With both the U16 and U18 national teams, Valančiūnas was European champion, both times (2008 and 2010) he was also named the most valuable player of the tournament. In 2011 he won the U19 World Cup with Lithuania , again he was voted most valuable player.

In August 2011 Valančiūnas made his debut for the senior national team in a preparation game for the European Championship against the Czech Republic and scored 26 points. Valanciunas participated with Lithuania in the 2011 European Championships in their own country. The Lithuanian national team went into the tournament as a favorite, but was surprisingly eliminated by Macedonia in the quarter-finals. Valanciunas scored 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 games for Lithuania.

At the 2013 European Basketball Championship he reached the final of the European Championship with Lithuania. In the final, however, they lost to France with 80-66. In 11 games Valančiūnas scored 6.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on average.

In 2014, he participated with Lithuania in the 2014 World Basketball Championship and reached fourth place. At the European Basketball Championships in 2015 he reached the final with Lithuania again after 2013 and lost to Spain. Valančiūnas was chosen for his strong performance with 16 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, in the all-tournament team.

family

Valančiūnas has been married since June 21, 2014 (in the Šiluva Church near Raseiniai ) and has a son named Jonas since 2015. His wife Eglė Ačaitė-Valančiūnienė (* 1988) is four years older than the two Lithuanian politicians Vida Ačienė (* 1963) and Remigijus Ačas (* 1962).

Web links

Commons : Jonas Valančiūnas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Raptors sign Jonas Valanciunas to rookie contract ( Memento from July 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Raptors Acquire Gasol From Grizzlies
  3. ^ Valanciunas Heads All Tournament Team
  4. ↑ Lithuania claim gold ( Memento from July 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Valanciuna's EuroBasket Stats
  6. ↑ Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania) ( Memento from August 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Gasol Headlines All-Star Five Presented By Tissot ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Susituokė Jonas Valančiūnas
  9. ↑ Jaunesnių vyrų glėbyje
personal data
SURNAME Valančiūnas, Jonas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lithuanian basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1992
PLACE OF BIRTH Utena