Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 11:30 am  |  19 responses

NBA Draft 2011: Who is Jonas Valanciunas?

Jonas Valanciunas — a long-lost Jonas brother or a Lithuanian basketball prospect?

by Jeff Fox (Twitter)

Every year at about this time there is a top-rated draft prospect that is a virtual unknown to hoops fans.  SLAM regulars will know most of our projected top 10 prospects for the 2011 NBA Draft from the Punks section of the magazine since seven out of the 10 just finished high school a few weeks ago.  And Jan Vesely and Donatas Motiejunas were considered top prospects for the 2010 Draft, so if you’ve been reading Draft 365 regularly (which is always a wise thing to do) you know about those two guys also.  That leaves one unknown — Jonas Valanciunas.

So who exactly is Jonas Valanciunas and where has he been our whole lives?  While the 18-year-old might not be a household name here, he is well known in international basketball circles due to his performance for the Lithuanian U16 and U18 National Teams, which he led to gold medals at the European championships and was named MVP of each tournament.  A professional in Lithuania since he was 16, Valanciunas played last year BC Lietuvos Rytas, where he led the team in blocks and played in the Lithuanian All-Star Game.

As for his vitals, his 6-11 and a very thin 210-lbs, which is one of his weaknesses — he needs to add strength.  Scouts are wowed over his extremely long wingspan and large hands, which he uses to snag passes and block/alter shots.  He’s also quite athletic for a big man, able to get up and down the floor and finish strong above the rim.  His go-to move in the post is a nice righty jump hook, that he has no trouble getting off over the defender due to his freakish wingspan.  He also has a nice looking shot that he can hit from mid-range, plus the ability to put the ball on the floor and blow by slow-footed defenders.

While Valnciunas is still more prospect than legitimate NBA player right now, his potential is through the roof.  If he can add some weight/strength (which, considering he is only 18 and has a nice frame, is totally likely to happen) and improve his back to the basket game, Valanciunas could be a real good NBA pro and should be a top 10 (or maybe even a top five) pick come next June.  Depending on his progress this year in Europe, a team drafting him might even decide to leave in overseas for another season so he can further develop (and not take a roster spot and precious salary cap room).

But don’t just take our word for it — check out this video of Valanciunas in action at the U18 Championships last summer versus France, where he had a so-so game of 37 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks.  (Especially check out his move at about the 6:20 mark of the video).



Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto and The MMA Manifesto.

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  • G$MONEY Posted: Aug.5 at 11:48 am
    this kid is gonna be HUGE, had a mad final also

  • niQ Posted: Aug.5 at 12:16 pm
    Definitely a long-lost Jonas brother. LOL.
    But on a more serious note, he’s been on EVERYONE’s radar as of late. He’s making a lot of noise. I’m always skeptic on overseas players so I’ll wait to see him play before anything.

  • niQ Posted: Aug.5 at 12:21 pm
    Damn, Lithuania might have 2 players in the first round if Jonas puts his name in.

  • larrylegend Posted: Aug.5 at 12:55 pm
    @niQ: Lituania is bball crazy! check the population and their results at world and european chamionships and olympia over the last 20 years…

  • Kap Posted: Aug.5 at 1:34 pm
    not impressed

  • kwame Posted: Aug.5 at 1:55 pm
    all these tall euros seem to be of the same mold…except for a few exceptions

  • Chitown Spaz Posted: Aug.5 at 2:43 pm
    This dude looks bogus, who he playing against, buncha skinny nobodys….haven’t we learned that these tall international players don’t blow up like everyone says they will…..we got one dirk..thats it….CMON SON

  • JL Posted: Aug.5 at 4:24 pm
    he’s maybe not bogus, but need to see him against top level competition. i remember before the draft there was this other kid who seemed good, and he didn’t even get drafted.

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.5 at 11:42 pm
    ANOTHER OVERRATED/OVERHYPED EUROPEAN PLAYER.

  • NotebookNick Posted: Aug.6 at 1:02 am
    I think he looks like he’s patient, and rail thin. He moves better than a lot of stiff, huge Euros do, but he’d better develop some range and ball handling, ala Bosh.

  • LOAF Posted: Aug.6 at 8:04 am
    he is 18 years old…….. yet your killing him already? give it 2 years at least hard bunch to please you “die hard basketball fans”

  • Morgan Posted: Aug.6 at 8:43 am
    cosign LOAF, plus what is with all the Euro hate on this site?! JTaylor21 – every day I read something on this site that makes your opinions seem like those bitter old men from the Muppets helped you out.
    The kid (and he is still a kid) looks like he could turn out to be a good addition to the L if he decides to go and he is already a good Pro. Hope he gets a look out at the Worlds/Olympics.

  • Laumol Posted: Aug.6 at 4:19 pm
    Pretty bad mixtape with that Eurohouse music. Pretty good player. Shouldn’t the Cavs draft this France player called Lebrun?

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Aug.6 at 5:52 pm
    There does seem to be an automatic negative backlash any time a European guy is hyped as a solid NBA prospect. Guess we’ve been burnt too many times in the past. Let’s try to put Valanciunas in perspective – if he was in the States and playing in high school, don’t you think he’d be even more hyped than now?

  • monty Posted: Aug.9 at 5:39 pm
    didnt see alot of outside game and not authoritative in the post nice spin move but will need to add muscle to compete the nba with only 1 or 2 post moves

  • come Posted: Aug.19 at 11:34 am
    thus, he lacks the muscle, but from a technical and intellectual view expressed to him at present is not equal to the world than two years older than younger … I say that because watching him all the matches of the European champ, and had to chat with him, if he receives another trauma is the first, second draft.

  • lithuanian Posted: Aug.28 at 8:21 am
    don’t worry, he’ll not put his name into drafts, even if he will he won’t play in NBA after 5 years. He’ll stay in Europe.

  • Another Lithuanian Posted: Apr.24 at 6:03 pm
    To lithuanian: predictions much?

  • Henry Nguyen Posted: Jan.19 at 6:36 pm
    he is going to help toronto big time when he comes

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