2025-26 Season
JONAS VALANČIŪNAS
2025-26 Season
JONAS VALANČIŪNAS
Valančiūnas produces at an above average rate for a 13-minute workload.
About this model: Net Impact can't measure floor spacing, help defense rotations, or playmaking gravity — so wings and guards are slightly undervalued vs bigs. How Net Impact works
TEAM COMPARISON
of 13 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)
SKILL DNA
Percentile rank vs 92 Centers with 10+ games
THE SEASON SO FAR
Jonas Valančiūnas spent the first quarter of the 2025-26 season settling into a new reality as a highly specialized, brute-force battering ram off the bench. When his sheer mass translated to the glass, he changed the math of the game without even needing to shoot the basketball. Take his 11/28 vs SAS outing; despite managing just 4 points, he posted a +6.8 impact score because his dominant rebounding secured crucial extra possessions and stabilized the defense. However, when opposing guards dragged him into space, his heavy feet became an undeniable liability. During his 10/29 vs NOP appearance, he tallied a highly efficient 10 points through low-post bully ball, but still bled value with a -4.2 impact score due to a disastrous -8.7 defensive mark. He is still capable of completely overwhelming backup bigs when handed the right matchup. On 11/07 vs GSW, he bullied his way to deep post position to drop 16 points in just 16 minutes, racking up a massive +16.4 impact score. He is no longer an every-night anchor, but as a situational wrecking ball, his heavy screens and interior physicality remain a potent weapon.
This stretch of the season was defined by a volatile tug-of-war between Valančiūnas's bruising interior dominance and his glaring lack of defensive mobility. You can see this tension perfectly in the 01/27 vs DET matchup. He racked up 16 points and 16 rebounds but still suffered a -2.4 impact. Despite that gaudy box score, his heavy feet in space yielded an abysmal -8.8 defensive score that actively bled points on the other end of the floor. Conversely, his micro-stint on 01/25 vs MEM yielded just 4 points in 6 minutes, yet he managed a robust +6.8 impact. He simply used his massive frame to wall off the paint, generating a +4.5 defensive score without needing offensive touches to create value. When the matchup actually suited his plodding style, he could still take over. Stepping into the starting lineup on 12/31 vs TOR, he bullied his way to 17 points and 9 rebounds, anchoring a massive +20.6 impact through flawless execution around the rim.
This stretch defined Valančiūnas's volatile transition into a pure, matchup-dependent situational bruiser. His massive frame remains a potent offensive weapon, but his heavy feet create wild swings in his actual on-court value. Take his 12/15 vs HOU appearance as a prime example of his hidden costs. He scored an efficient 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting, but glaring defensive liabilities in space completely ruined the shift and dragged him down to a disastrous -7.5 impact score. Contrast that defensive bleeding with his gritty 03/05 vs LAL outing. He tallied a +0.8 impact score despite scoring just 4 points on zero field goal attempts, creating vital non-scoring value simply by drawing fouls and securing extra possessions. When deployed against the right personnel, however, his bully-ball tactics still work wonders. He brutally punished smaller defenders on 02/25 vs BOS, racking up 11 points and a stellar +6.2 impact score on 5-of-7 shooting.
IMPACT TIMELINE
Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.
Typical consistency. Valančiūnas is positive more often than not (64% of games) with scoring varying ~4 points from the average.
Reliable shooter — hits 45%+ from the field in 77% of games. You can count on efficient nights more often than not.
Good defender on his best nights, but it comes and goes. Some games Valančiūnas locks in defensively, others he gets picked apart.
Tends to go on runs. Longest hot streak: 8 games. Longest cold streak: 4 games.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Based on 63 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.
ON OFFENSE: WHO GUARDED HIM
His shooting stats against each primary defender this season
ON DEFENSE: WHO HE GUARDED
How opponents shot when he was the primary defender. Lower FG% = better defense.
SEASON STATS
GAME LOG
59 games played