NBA Power Rankings: All 30 Starting Centers
By Shane Young
20. Jonas Valanciunas — Toronto Raptors
Another rising international center is one from Lithuania that always gets your blood boiling. Valanciunas came about two inches from seeing his own blood in the recent FIBA semi-finals, as DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t taking the over-aggressive elbows and dirty style of play.
Valanciunas may not even be a dirty player, per say, but you can’t watch Toronto play top ranked teams across the league and not feel as if he’s trying to get someone riled.
After claiming the Summer League MVP in 2013, he was projected to jump into the top 15 centers the league has to offer, and it just wasn’t the case up North. Most of it, like it or not, fell on the surrounding stars that he had with him in the lineup.
Rudy Gay, being a detriment to the team’s atmosphere and chemistry, was with the team for the first month and half of the season. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry provide Dwane Casey with two top 10 talents in their respective positions, and it doesn’t equal a load of individual success for Valanciunas. Thus, the Lithuanian’s Usage Rating was only 16.9 last season, tied for 29th in his position.
Offensively, why shouldn’t we be convinced he has the raw tools that will only climb the more he plays alongside Amir Johnson? Shooting 63.3 percent during the first round loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Valanciunas displayed the need for more touches, but also found himself in deep foul trouble during Games 6 and 7.
It’s the learning curve he’s still going through, and even he would likely tell you that NBA play is astoundingly different than FIBA games. He has all the age in the world on his side, and nobody should be surprised if he’s labeled a top 10 center, universally, by the next two seasons.