Here We Go Again: Valanciunas May Return to Europe This Summer

May 08, 2026 ,

Last summer, after the Denver Nuggets acquired Jonas Valanciunas in a trade, the stunning rumor leaked that he was considering foregoing the final two years on his contract and heading overseas to Europe. 

He eventually agreed to honor his deal for the 2025-26 season with the Nuggets. But the 33-year-old (now 34) posted the worst numbers of his career across the board, and did not really have the impact off the bench that Denver was hoping. He is now one of the most likely Nuggets to not return to the team next season. 

But more than that, we're hearing once again that he's considering skipping out on the last year of his NBA deal (if Denver picks it up) and going to Europe to continue (finish?) his basketball career. 

According to BasketNews, JV is attracting interest overseas, with Zalgiris Kaunas among the EuroLeague clubs trying to bring him back to his homeland in Lithuania. The team is in need of a new center, as Moses Wright, a big man out of North Carolina who played a handful of games literally in the NBA a few years ago, will be leaving Zalgiris and heading to FC Barcelona for next season.

The Nuggets hold an option to terminate Valanciunas's contract in the summer if they prefer not to pay him another $10M next year. The betting here is that that's exactly what they'll do. 

JV went pretty far down the road of looking into going to the EuroLeague last summer, even going to Greece for a medical in anticipation of potentially joining Panathinaikos Athens.

He finished the season with Denver, averaging 8.7 points and 5.1 boards in 13 minutes a night, after posting career marks over 13 seasons of 13 ppg and over 9 rebounds. 

Photo: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Go To: NFL Rumors | MLB Rumors | NHL Rumors