It sounds strange saying this about a 10 year veteran basketball player, but it appears that Jonas Valančiūnas has found a home – and his niche – in New Orleans.
Oft times called the Big Science or Lithuanian Lightning, Valančiūnas was selected No. 5 over all in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, where he spent the first seven years of his career.
In 2019, just before the trade deadline, the Raptors decided to bank their fortunes on Marc Gasol, so they swapped Valančiūnas to Memphis for the Spaniard.
While it seemed to work out more for Gasol – as the Raptors went onto a championship – with the way the Raptors were constructed, had Valančiūnas remained, he would have earned the opportunity to celebrate an NBA championship with his long-time teammates.
Valančiūnas would average 11.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in his seven years in Toronto.
In the trade with Memphis, in his 2.5 seasons and 151 games as a Grizzly, he would improve to 16.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, and just under two assists a night, at 1.9 per.
Special notes about his time in Memphis include recording 23 points and 10 rebounds in his debut against the San Antonio Spurs, then scoring a then career-high 33 points and 15 rebounds versus the Houston Rockets. Two days later, he had 23 points and career-high 24 rebounds in a 123–119 overtime loss to the Orlando Magic. 
Valančiūnas also set the franchise record for defensive rebounds in a game with (23) and set a new career high with 34 points to go with 20 rebounds (11 offensive) in a win over the Phoenix Suns. It was a career-best sixth straight double-double for Valančiūnas, with the streak and his season with a Grade II right ankle sprain.*
Back in February 2020, Valančiūnas by grabbing a record 25 rebounds (6 offensive), then grabbed 20 rebounds for the Grizzlies club record (45 rebounds) for the most rebounds in two consecutive games.**
All of this on a still-subpar roster in Memphis.
In New Orleans, Valančiūnas has led the team in scoring over the past three games – 24 versus Sacramento, 27 against the New York Knicks, and most recently versus the Phoenix Suns. While all three were losses (New Orleans is dead last in the NBA at 1-7, .125), the games arfe giving Valančiūnas to show he still has value after a decade.
This season he is averaging a career-high 19.9 points per game (his entire season average through his first 19 games as a Grizzly to finish out the 2018-19 season), 14.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.
Valančiūnas is second in the NBA’s rebounding leaders this season, at that 14.5 average, just a few ticks behind Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
A home is a seed from which the plant of life grows and branches out into relationships … and happy memories
Here’s hoping the third team’s a charm for Jonas Valančiūnas in New Orleans, where there’s plenty room to grow and be a valued big man in the way Anthony Davis wasn’t in his time in the Big Easy.
- – Information from Wikipedia
** – Information from Wikipedia
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| Milwaukee Bucks 117 | Giannis Antetokuonmpo – 28 points
Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Thanasis Antetokuonmpo – 8 rebounds Giannis Antetokuonmpo – 9 assists |
| Detroit Pistons 89 | Jerami Grant – 21 points
Saddiq Bey, Trey Lyles – 7 rebounds Killian Hayes – 4 assists |
NEXT UP
Sixers at Pistons – Thursday
Knicks at Bucks – Friday
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| Miami Heat 125 | Tyler Herro – 25 points
Bam Adebayo – 13 rebounds Kyle Lowry – 9 assists |
| Dallas Mavericks 110 | Luka Doncic – 33 points
Dwight Powell – 8 rebounds Luka Doncic – 5 assists |
NEXT UP
Mavericks at Spurs – Tonight
Celtics at Heat – Thursday
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| Sacramento Kings 113 | Harrison Barnes – 23 points
Richaun Holmes – 10 rebounds De’Aaron Fox – 9 assists |
| Utah Jazz 119 | Donovan Mitchell – 36 points
Rudy Gobert – 20 rebounds Donovan Mitchell – 6 assists |
NEXT UP
Pelicans at Kings – Tonight
Jazz at Hawks – Thursday
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| New Orleans Pelicans 100 | Jonas Valanciunas – 23 points
Jonas Valanciunas – 14 rebounds Devonte’ Graham – 6 assists |
| Phoenix Suns 112 | Mikal Bridges – 22 points
Devin Booker, Jae Crowder – 8 rebounds Chris Paul – 18 assists |
NEXT UP
Pelicans at Kings – Tonight
Rockets at Suns – Thursday
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| Houston Rockets 117 | Christian Wood – 26 points
Christian Wood – 16 rebounds Kevin Porter, Jr. – 8 assists |
| Los Angeles Lakers 119 | LeBron James – 30 points
Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook – 9 rebounds LeBron James – 10 assists |
NEXT UP
Rockets at Suns – Thursday
Thunder at Lakers – Thursday
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Tracy Graven is the Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, done NBA Radio, and appeared as a guest for the last 21+ years for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show, NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 21 years in locker rooms in Orlando, Boise (CBA, G League), San Antonio, Phoenix, Denver, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta.
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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