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Jonas Valančiūnas

Denver Nuggets · Rotation
OFF77DEF75
Elite rebounder & shooter
DEN
Denver Nuggets
Western · Northwest · proj. 56-26 (▲+2.8)
→

A grizzled throwback center on a modest $10M deal, brought in to spell Jokić without the offense collapsing. There's no 2025-26 sample here to rate his form, but the book on him is well established: a bruising interior scorer and elite offensive rebounder who anchors the paint and lives on the block. Backup-center insurance for a title push.

10.4
PPG
7.7
RPG
2
APG
0.5
SPG
0.6
BPG
GP 81MPG 18.8FG% 553P% 21.6FT% 87.9TS% 60.2USG% 22.8PER 20.8BPM +0.6VORP 1EPM +0.6
2024-25 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2024-25 form
Rebounding98
Shooting84
Playmaking81
Scoring75
Inside finishing70
Perimeter defense65
Rim protection64

Skill ratings are 2024-25 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2012-13 to 2025-26 · 14 seasons
12.8
PPG
9.0
RPG
1.4
APG
1,002
GAMES
Points 12,846Win Shares 87.6Starts 854Best season 2014-15 · 12.0 ppg
Games played, last three seasons93%
AMONG CURRENT PLAYERS
24th in Win Shares21st in games played

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 31 → 33
▼Declining

Jonas, at 33, is trending downward — 4.2 → 1.9 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▬ On curve
Declining about on schedule for his age.
2026-27 forecast▲ 2.8 wins (+0.9)
Starts from his player rating, which is higher than last season's total. Age takes about 1.1 wins off at 34. Range 2.0–3.6 wins.
Production (BPM)+1.2 → 0.0-1.226-27 forecast -0.2
His on-court production has slipped.
2023-24: +1.2 · 82 games2024-25: +0.6 · 81 games2025-26: 0.0 · 65 games2026-27: -0.2 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)4.2 → 1.9-2.226-27 forecast 2.8
His win contribution is trending down.
2023-24: 4.2 · 82 games2024-25: 3.0 · 81 games2025-26: 1.9 · 65 games2026-27: 2.8 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $6.2M vs $10.0M salary−$3.8M
He is paid about what his play is projected to be worth.
$10.0M salary2023-24: $11.0M · 82 games2024-25: $6.9M · 81 games2025-26: $4.4M · 65 games2026-27: $6.2M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $10,000,000 cap hit · through '27. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$10,000,000Guaranteed
5% of the club’s payroll
Runs through1 season
Est. market value$6,183,000 /yr
Surplus−$3,817,000
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

1 move
  • Jul 8
    WAIVEDDENOFFICIAL
    Denver Nuggets waived center Jonas Valanciunas.

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.