Despite playing only four games due to a non-shooting hand injury, Jonas Valanciunas was named the summer league MVP and thus officially eliminated himself from next year’s summer league. He averaged 18.8 points and 10 rebounds (only double-double guy, take that Drummond), and was basically dominating opposition at will.
His performance came somewhat as a surprise as you’d think this the up-and-down guard-driven style would suit Terrence Ross more, but Valanciunas made his mark, garnering attention from wide corners of the internet and positioning himself to be a legitimate name in the NBA next year.
[Related: Jonas Explodes Twitter, Leads Raptors to Summer League Quarterfinals]
Masai Ujiri commented on the performance:
“Jonas has worked very hard on his game all summer and continues to develop as a young big in the league. It is always good to make strides and the summer league is a good place to start testing.”
He’ll be participating in the upcoming EuroBasket for Lithuania, where the competition will be tougher, even though this guy is partaking too.
Here’s our man in full action:
