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Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valanciunas (Toronto at Washington 04.26.15).jpg
Valančiūnas going for a dunk in 2015
No. 17 – Toronto Raptors
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1992-05-06) 6 May 1992 (age 24)
Utena, Lithuania
Nationality Lithuanian
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Playing career 2008–present
Career history
2008–2010 Perlas Vilnius
2010–2012 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2012–present Toronto Raptors
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuanian pronunciation: ​[ˈjoːnɐs vɐɫɐnʲˈt͡ʃûːnɐs]; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been a member of the Lithuania men's national basketball team since age 19. Valančiūnas was selected by the Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Valančiūnas has 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 Lithuanian National Basketball League (NKL), Lithuania's second strongest league, but moved up to the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) the following season. In January 2009 Valančiūnas signed a long-term contract with Lithuanian powerhouse Lietuvos Rytas, but, as Perlas was Lietuvos Rytas' daughter club, he didn't move to Lietuvos Rytas instantly and stayed in Perlas for the first half of the 2009–10 season.

On 17 January 2010, Valančiūnas finally moved to Lietuvos Rytas. A month after that Lietuvos Rytas won the 2010 edition of Lithuanian Basketball Federation LKF Cup. While playing there, Valančiūnas has played in the LKL Finals three times, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The team won the 2010 series against Žalgiris 4–3, but lost to the same team the following year 1–4 and 0-3 in 2012.


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