Toronto Raptors: The Breakout Of Jonas Valanciunas

Jonas Valanciunas is on his way to having the best season in his young career and that could impact his future with the Toronto Raptors.

It’s shaping up to be a landmark year for the Toronto Raptors.

At 37-18, the team is on pace to have the best season in their 21-year career, potentially capture their third straight Atlantic Division title and they stand three games back of the first seed in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Individually, the team’s decorated backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have never been better, head coach Dwane Casey deserves to be included for any Coach of the Year consideration and recent free agent addition Cory Joseph has been a revelation coming off the bench.

Yet one player has flown under the year for the Raptors and based on his play this year, it’s time to include him in the conversation for why the Raptors have been so successful this season.

That player is Jonas Valanciunas.

However, that success hasn’t come as easy as one might have hoped for Valanciunas due to the injury setback he had early in the year when he fractured a bone in his left hand that forced him to miss over a month of action.

More from Hoops Habit

After starting off slow since making his return to the court late December, Valanciunas is starting to round into form and one could make a case that he’s playing the best basketball since he came to Toronto four years ago.

In the month of February, Valanciunas is averaging 15 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while shooting an astounding 64 percent from the field.

It’s understandable that those numbers may be underwhelming to some, but those numbers speak to Valanciunas’ gradual growth since entering the NBA at 20 years old and his increased role in the team’s offense.

For instance, this is Valanciunas’ first year where he has produced an average usage rate (20.4 percent, per NBA.com/stats) and that jump has resulted in Valanciunas’ highest points per game (12.8) as well as rebounds per game (9.4) in his four-year career.

Now, Valanciunas’s increased role is partially due to the departures of key frontcourt veterans (like Amir Johnson) that he used to share time with in previous seasons, but Valanciunas’ progress this year has nonetheless been a huge victory for the Raptors.

The question left for the Raptors’ front office is how this development impacts Valanciunas’ fit and future with the team.