C Jonas Valanciunas Season Recap

A season review of New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas for 2022-23.

New Orleans, La - Now that the season has ended for the New Orleans Pelicans, it's time to evaluate each player's performance, starting with center Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian big man played in 79 games, which tied him for the team lead in games played this past season.  

On Jan. 20, Jonas recorded the 300th double-double of his career, a testament to a player who is a double-double machine in the NBA. This season was no exception, with the center achieving an impressive 43 double-doubles, ranking him fifth in the league. Although this was slightly less than his 50 from last year, he was still the only player on the Pelicans team to achieve double-digit double-doubles this season. 

Despite his impressive scoring performance, Valanciunas played for under 25 minutes in the latest contest, his lowest playing time since the 2017-2018 season. It's worth noting that he was absent during crunch time, as he only played for 5 minutes or less in the fourth quarter in 28 games. The team missed him during a crucial stretch to end the regular season against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the game between the Pelicans and Timberwolves, Valanciunas performed well, scoring 11 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in three quarters. However, he didn't play in the fourth quarter, leaving the Pelicans without a big man to defend against Karl-Anthony Towns. As a result, Minnesota won the match 113-108. It's worth noting that Jonas had his first negative +/- (-0.1) since the 2014-2015 season, despite averaging 14.1 points and 10.2 rebounds on 54.7% shooting.  

Valanciunas is a key member of the Pelicans leading in starts (79), rebounds (804), and block shots (52). In December, he hit a significant career milestone by scoring his 10,000th career point in the NBA against the Indiana Pacers.

Apr 9, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) defends during the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Season Highlight

January 13, 2023, vs Detroit: 33 points, 16 rebounds on 80% shooting from the field.

Valanciunas had his most efficient game shooting against the Pistons, going 80% from the field and free throw line. New Orleans played without Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, leaving Jonas to shoulder much of the offensive load, and he delivered. 

Season Lowlight

November 25, 2022, at Memphis: 4 points, 3 rebounds.

This game was a lowlight for the Pelicans in general. Memphis raced out to a 19-point lead, and New Orleans never recovered. Former Pelicans' center Steven Adams finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds on the night and outplayed Valanciunas from the start. Jonas was a -21 on the evening. 

Future Outlook

Jonas is in the last year of his contract with the Pelicans and will become a free agent after the upcoming season. The team may include him in a trade deal along with another asset to acquire a younger and more athletic center. Alternatively, if they opt to retain his services, they will have a seasoned center ready to contribute whenever needed.

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