Jonas Valanciunas, a seasoned NBA free agent, has signed a two-year contract with Zalgiris Kaunas, a Lithuanian EuroLeague team, as announced by the club on Wednesday. This move follows Valanciunas’s release from the Denver Nuggets last week, where the team saved $8 million in preparation for the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season.
Despite interest from several NBA teams, Valanciunas has chosen to return to Lithuania. At 34 years old, he participated in 65 games last season, playing as a backup center to Nikola Jokic. During this time, he averaged 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in an average of 13.4 minutes per game.
Valanciunas is expected to earn approximately $5.5 million over the next two seasons with Zalgiris Kaunas, as reported by BasketNews. Zalgiris Kaunas welcomed Valanciunas back home with enthusiasm, expressing on social media that “the paint is CLOSED until further notice.” They celebrated the signing by highlighting him as the “all-time NBA Lithuanian top scorer.”
Before his NBA career, Valanciunas played for Perlas Vilnius and Lietuvos rytas Vilnius. He entered the NBA as the No. 5 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 2011 NBA Draft and continued to play for teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Denver Nuggets.
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