About
Jonas Valančiūnas ( YOH-nəss VAL-ən-CHOO-nəs; Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈjoːnɐs vɐɫɐnʲˈtɕûːnɐs]; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, and Denver Nuggets.
Valančiūnas has been a member of the Lithuania national team since age 19. He won two EuroBasket silver medals in EuroBasket 2013 and EuroBasket 2015, earning All-Tournament honours in the latter. Valančiūnas also appeared in the documentary The Other Dream Team.
Valančiūnas started playing professionally for Perlas in 2008. During the 2008–09 season the team played in the National Basketball League (NKL), Lithuania’s second strongest league, but moved up to the top-tier Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) the following season. In January 2009 Valančiūnas signed a long-term contract with Lietuvos rytas, but, as Perlas was Lietuvos rytas’ farm club, he did not immediately move to Lietuvos…
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