Jonas Valanciunas Is Officially DONE With The NBA
The Lithuanian lightning strikes in Kaunas.
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) July 15, 2026
All-time NBA Lithuanian top scorer Jonas Valanciunas signs a 2-year deal with Zalgiris! 💚⚡️ pic.twitter.com/tCgXItJFAh
JV is signing with a team in his home country of Lithuania, on a 2-year deal with the EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas. Per BasketNews, he is slated to earn around $5.5 million USD on the contract.
He was waived by the Denver Nuggets last week.
In what will now likely be his final year in the NBA this past season, Valanciunas, 34, played 65 games for Denver, averaging 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 58.2% from the field.
He was drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft and spent the first 6 1/2 years of his career with the team. He was traded during the 2018-19 season to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marc Gasol, a deal which wound up being the final piece of the puzzle for the Raptors to eventually go on to win the 2019 NBA title.
JV spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for, in addition to the Raptors and Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings and finally the Nuggets. He averaged 12.8 points and nine rebounds in 1,002 career games.