Paulius Jankūnas

Paulius Jankūnas
No. 13 – Žalgiris Kaunas
Position Power forward
League Lithuanian Basketball League
Euroleague
Personal information
Born (1984-04-29) April 29, 1984
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality Lithuanian
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2006 / Undrafted
Playing career 2003–present
Career history
2002–2003 LKKA-Žalgiris Kaunas
2003–2009 Žalgiris Kaunas
2009–2010 Khimki
2010–present Žalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA World Championship
Turkey 2010
EuroBasket
2015 France
2007 Spain
FIBA World U-21 Championship
2005 Argentina Team
FIBA World U-19 Championship
2003 Greece Team
FIBA European U-20 Championship
2004 Czech Republic Team

Paulius Jankūnas (born April 29, 1984) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. He plays either forward position.

Early years

Jankūnas played two seasons with the LKKA-Žalgiris and led them to a LKAL (Lithuanian League 2nd Division) title in 2003 and was named the MVP after averaging 20.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

He competed at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso in 2003.[1]

Professional career

Jankūnas with Žalgiris Kaunas.

Jankūnas made his pro debut with the Žalgiris in the 2003-04 season. When asked about playing with European basketball legend Arvydas Sabonis in his rookie season, Jankūnas responded: "No doubt it was the most remarkable season. It was fantastic to play with Arvydas Sabonis. I was very young and it was very exciting. In the beginning, I was little bit afraid and uncomfortable, but later things got easy and I learned a lot from him. When I was a kid, I used to watch him playing on TV and never dared to dream that I would be playing with Arvydas Sabonis. One day I woke up and Sabonis was my teammate. It was great. He had huge experience and gave a lot of advice to me. It was big honor to play with him and I hope I learned something from Sabonis."[2]

He was originally an early entry candidate for the 2005 NBA Draft before withdrawing his name from consideration.

Jankūnas helped Žalgiris win three Baltic League titles in 2005, 2008, and 2011, six Lithuanian League titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012 and four Lithuanian Cups in 2007 and 2008, 2011 and 2012.

He averaged 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds in the 2008-09 Euroleague season and scored a season-high 23 points in a win against the Asseco Prokom Sopot on December 18, 2008.[3] However, the Žalgiris finished with a 2-8 record and did not qualify to the Top 16.[4]

Jankūnas was named the 2009 Baltic League MVP after averaging 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds.[5]

On August 14, 2009 he signed 2-year contract with BC Khimki.[6]

On July 24, 2010 it was announced that Jankūnas is coming back to Žalgiris Kaunas.[7]

Lithuanian national team

Paulius Jankūnas (right) as a member of Lithuania national basketball team in 2010.

Jankūnas played at the 2003 World U-19 Championship where the Lithuanians won silver medals.

Jankūnas led the 2004 European U-20 Championship in rebounding (12.3 rpg) in addition to posting 12.5 points per game. He led Lithuania to a 2005 World U-21 Championship title.[8] He averaged 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Jankūnas was a member of the Lithuania national team that won fifth place in the 2005 European Championship. He averaged 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.

He also helped the Lithuanians win a bronze medal at the 2007 European Championship and another Bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Player profile

A well built 6 ft. 10 in. power forward, Jankūnas is good in rebounding and scoring. He prefers inside scoring and often provokes fouls from opposing team's players while he can also play as a stretch forward with help from his consistent mid-range and three point shot.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2003–04 Žalgiris 16 5 13.6 .526 .000 .636 2.9 .6 .5 .3 4.6 5.1
2004–05 20 12 18.8 .544 .143 .581 4.2 .6 .7 .1 6.2 7.7
2005–06 20 10 24.5 .468 .250 .714 6.8 1.1 .4 .3 10.8 12.3
2006–07 13 8 27.0 .483 .208 .673 4.2 1.0 1.3 .2 9.5 12.1
2007–08 20 19 21.6 .469 .324 .771 4.8 .8 .9 .4 8.6 9.4
2008–09 9 9 31.1 .440 .296 .778 8.0 1.2 1.0 .6 13.8 14.8
2009–10 Khimki 16 16 25.0 .475 .377 .773 4.9 .8 .8 .3 8.2 9.6
2010–11 Žalgiris 16 8 26.3 .476 .152 .818 6.9 .9 .6 .4 9.4 11.7
2011–12 16 16 23.4 .447 .333 .727 5.6 .8 .8 .3 7.8 8.8
2012–13 17 16 24.8 .465 .292 .844 4.8 1.2 .8 .2 8.2 9.2
2013–14 21 21 26.2 .465 .257 .771 6.5 1.9 1.1 .3 8.8 12.0
2014–15 24 23 24.2 .480 .300 .800 6.5 1.1 .6 .5 9.1 12.0
2015–16 24 23 25.3 .540 .310 .838 6.2 1.5 .9 .2 12.3 15.5
Career 232 186 23.6 .543 .284 .755 5.7 1.1 .8 .3 8.9 10.7

Personal

Jankūnas married his wife Ieva in the summer of 2007.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Paulius Jankunas Prospect Profile
  2. ↑ Paulius Jankunas, Zalgiris Kaunas
  3. ↑ Paulius Jank8nas: Sezono lygos statistika
  4. ↑ Euroleague Regular Season 2008-09 Standings
  5. ↑ Paulius Jankunas – The regular season MVP of the SEB BBL Elite Division
  6. ↑ Thank you, Jorge! Hello, Paulius!
  7. ↑ Zalgiris brings back Jankunas Euroleague.net
  8. ↑ Euroleague.net interview: Paulius Jankunas, Zalgiris
  9. ↑ Jankūnas šeštadienį veda mokyklos laikų meilę
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