Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, J. Valančiūnas, who is competing in the 11th season in the NBA League, assessed the chances of the Lithuanians belonging to the Barcelona club to enter the NBA League and the chances of the Lithuanian national team in the 2023 World Championship.
The New York Knicks club invited Rokas Jokubaitis to the team in the 2021 draft. The offensive player from Lithuania, who was drafted with the 34th draft, has played in Europe, in the Barcelona team, but Knicks coach Tomas Thibodeau revealed that he would like to see the 22-year-old Lithuanian in his team.
“Rock next year in the NBA? I don’t know. He shows good basketball, plays a lot of minutes. Together with Sharu, they share a good bond. He is doing well. If he continues to remain healthy and productive, this summer will be fantastic,” said JV about R. Jokubaitis.
30-year-old J. Valančiūnas also knows R. Jokubaitis’s current coach – Š. Jasikevičius – very well. In 2010, together with Š. Jasikevičius, Jonas competed together in the Vilnius “Lietuvos Ryto” team.
The well-regarded coach in Europe has been associated with a move to the NBA for several years, and J. Valančiūnas believes that the strategist is capable of coaching an NBA team.
“Jasikevicis is doing well. His teams are always at the top of EuroLeague and National League and he is a genius in this game. He is a fantastic coach. He can do anything and has the ability to go where he wants,” the Pelicans’ tall man said about his former teammate in the best words.
This summer, J. Valančiūnas and other Lithuanians will try to win medals at the World Championship. However, the captain of the national team is not going to make promises.
“First of all, let the season end and let everyone get back to work healthy. It will be a tough summer, there are some great teams and we will have to prepare hard. Are we aiming for medals? Many teams talk about medals before the tournament, but we remain modest. We have a team of young guys who are learning together. We’ll see. I don’t like to speak ahead of time,” J. Valančiūnas commented on the upcoming tournament.