On Wednesday, Lithuanian EuroLeague team Zalgiris Kaunas announced the signing of Jonas Valanciunas to a two-year contract. This follows Valanciunas’ recent waiver by the Denver Nuggets. The move allows the Nuggets to save $8 million as they gear up for the 2026-27 NBA season.
The veteran NBA player, now 34, received interest from several NBA teams but decided to return to Lithuania, his home country. In the previous season, Valanciunas played as a backup center to Nikola Jokic for the Nuggets, appearing in 65 games. He averaged 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game.
Zalgiris Kaunas revealed that Valanciunas would earn approximately $5.5 million over the upcoming two seasons. The club expressed their excitement over social media, boasting, “WARNING: the paint is CLOSED until further notice. Jonas Valanciunas is back in his homeland.” Additionally, they celebrated his return with, “The Lithuanian lightning strikes in Kaunas. All-time NBA Lithuanian top scorer Jonas Valanciunas signs a 2-year deal with Zalgiris!”
Before his NBA journey, Valanciunas played for Perlas Vilnius and Lietuvos rytas Vilnius. His NBA career began when he was the Toronto Raptors’ No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 Draft. Subsequently, he played for teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Denver Nuggets.
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