Having represented Lithuania’s youth, junior, and senior national teams since 2007, Jonas Valančiūnas this time said “no” to the national team.
This happened before the crucial fourth window of the World Championship qualifiers, in which the team coached by Rimas Kurtinaitis, pushed to the brink, desperately needs victories.
Such a step by the long-time leader and captain sparked talks about a possible player boycott, as for the upcoming matches against Turkey and Bosnia, we lack nearly two dozen of the strongest players.
Although the association “Lithuanian Basketball” communication and conversations with the country’s basketball legends continue to develop the boycott theme, J. Valančiūnas presented a different perspective on the 15min show PIKENROLAS.
“Someone thought out loud, and someone needed to catch this ‘boycott’ thing. We don’t have that union, that unity. Everyone against everyone and everyone does as they can. Go ahead, blame the players who are not patriots and are boycotting. They should have their citizenships revoked! No one is boycotting, everyone has their reasons. One may have some injury, another may have internal team issues, a third, like me, has some new beginning,” said 34-year-old J. Valančiūnas on the 15min show PIKENROLAS, who signed a contract with Kaunas “Žalgiris” this summer and started training there. “I don’t think anyone is not coming to the national team because they want Lithuania to lose. No one has such motives. It’s not true that someone is boycotting. I haven’t talked to any player, I haven’t suggested anyone not to come. No player said they wouldn’t come because they want things to be bad. Yes, the situation is unusual because many players did not show up. I don’t even know if this has happened before in history.
Let’s not forget that one of our leaders Rokas Jokubaitis was recovering from an injury, as were Tadas Sedekerskis and Domantas Sabonis, who is finishing his recovery but cannot return directly to the national team. The club would not allow it. These are the three main players who did not appear because they are injured. The situation is unfortunate, speaking about myself as well. If I were playing in America, it would have been different; it would have been a great chance to play basketball and represent Lithuania’s honor. The situation is unusual. Let’s also not forget that every player is not just a basketball player. There is family, psychological issues, and various states. Maybe someone is going through something; we won’t delve into everyone’s inner self and find the reason. These are personal matters. An unfortunate situation, and there are more things on top of that.”
Explaining his reason for refusal, J. Valančiūnas emphasized a new career stage, when after 14 years in the NBA, he returned to Lithuania and signed a contract with Kaunas “Žalgiris”.
This is a fundamental but not the only motive behind the country’s basketball star’s decision.
“Many things happened in my life this summer. This is a new career stage in Europe, so I want everything according to the book. I want to start the stage from the very beginning, to establish contact with the coaching staff and players, combinations I want to get into. I want to be 100% ready. My biological clock doesn’t stand still, the years are ticking, and I still want to make noise, do something more than just serve a contract year. I wanted to arrange everything and start on a good note with the ‘Žalgiris’ team,” said J. Valančiūnas on the 15min show PIKENROLAS. “This is the main motive, but there were other aspects that also influenced the decision. We know what’s going on, and I won’t tell anything new. We know the fuss brewing in the media, as well as in neighbors’ conversations. We see everything; it doesn’t add anything new. Inside information also contributed to my decision.”
– Jonas, talks about the poor situation of Lithuanian basketball have not stopped for almost two months, and there are many rumors from inside about improper processes. Why did you finally decide to speak out?
– I didn’t want to say anything or make it public because people gathered and worked for Lithuania out of respect. Some things worked out, some didn’t. Huge respect to the players who came. They do it for Lithuania, as does the coaching staff.
But the players who didn’t come somehow became non-patriots, scapegoats are sought in the media. Everything looks very unpleasant, so I wanted to speak out and convey the message that we are probably all responsible. Everyone who was on the court, contributed or made decisions, is responsible. If players are not patriots, where are the patriotic actions from the leadership? I’m talking about the big heads. If we see the situation is bad and a huge mess is brewing, where is the patriotic action to make things better for Lithuania? After all, we gathered not to earn money but to work for Lithuania so that Lithuanian basketball results would be better. Probably, we should all think about that.
– Do you have any ideas about what specifically should change in Lithuanian basketball?
– If I had an idea, I would definitely say it. If some antidote to this whole thing had been invented, the situation would have been resolved already. But this is basketball, a game that involves luck. Players, coaches, management… We should stop pushing each other. All those statements from legends that those who didn’t come are not patriots and should have their citizenships revoked… We stirred up a fuss, we look bad not only in front of ourselves but also in front of the whole world. No one fears us anymore; even Estonians laugh at us because they know what’s going on inside us and what a messed-up situation it is. They haven’t feared us for a long time. The times when you had to concentrate a lot against Lithuania are long gone. Now the Estonian laughs and passes through the lane.”
– Could it be that your career in the national team is over if both the World Championship and the Olympic Games slip away?
Read more After a powerful storm – power grid rescue operation: additional forces rush to help ESO
– I don’t know. If I can do something and the situation allows, I never say “no” to the national team. You can say I’m not a patriot because I didn’t come this time, but I have my reasons that influenced me.
The main reason is my personal matters. But I never say “no.” When the season starts and the next “window” comes, if I am needed… Well, maybe I won’t be needed because I have a “cigar” and a “belly” (laughs).
– The association publicly reacted last week to Jonas Mačiulis’s statements as “demeaning and unfounded,” but you seem to support the former teammate’s remarks?
– Now I’ll get it back because I’m demeaning (laughs). This is not made up, it’s not like sitting at home and inventing something to blacken someone. I don’t think Jonas (Mačiulis) is the one who wants to unjustly put some burden on someone and say things that didn’t happen. Some may see it one way, others another, but Jonas is not the one who would play a broken record and tell things that weren’t.
– What was the communication with the association leaders like after the failure in Italy?
– I talked maybe one and a half times with Domarkas (Dominykas Domarkas – general director of the association “Lithuanian Basketball” – editor’s note) (smiles). He said that Dainius Adomaitis would be the coach, asked what I thought about it. I said I didn’t know, it’s your plans, but I have played under Adomaitis and have only good words about him, I said we would move forward no matter what you decide. He said the coach was already one foot in the national team, but then I talked to the coach, who replied that he didn’t have that many feet in the national team yet (smiles).
I don’t want to say anything bad about the coaches, just that lack of communication… Sometimes I didn’t quite understand what Domarkas wanted to tell me. The transmission of messages, cover-ups, attempts to spin something… Just say it as it is. We are grown men; money doesn’t impress in these situations. It wasn’t that the coach (Adomaitis) didn’t want the money; he goes for Lithuania, but something influenced the coach not to come. Interesting, who?
– You have mentioned more than once your desire to work in Lithuanian basketball after your career, perhaps to seek the association president’s position, but is it possible to see you running already in 2028?
– First of all, I need to learn all sorts of tricks, how everything should look on a white sheet of paper. I have played basketball all my life; I can talk about schemes and screens, but for this job, you need to bring knowledge. I have to learn, gain experience; I can’t just come from the court and work in the office. I have to study, accumulate knowledge and contacts because this is a big position where you have to make not only one side happy but also schoolchildren and all other leagues. I still need to learn. I will be self-critical – if I come, I want to make something better, and for that, I have to learn.
– Do you have a favorite candidate in the opposition whom you would support in the presidential elections?
– I don’t have one. I also see Jonas (Mačiulis) as one of the main candidates. He has experience, gains knowledge, has youthful drive. He is stubborn, wants to do something for Lithuania. That will also be needed because a lot of work lies ahead, so you need to know well and have the desire to change something. That desire must be priceless.
Returning to me, I would like to be involved in basketball after my career, but I lived in America for 14 years, so I still need to simmer in Lithuanian basketball juices. I have to learn all the kitchen secrets, learn all the recipes (laughs). Now I couldn’t even do that physically. I am for changes, I am for new winds. I will support if it looks logical, if the message is conveyed and the work goes in the right direction. I will definitely support that candidate. Who will be the candidate from the opposition, I don’t know, but the person must be driven and have new ideas, with youthful energy and stubbornness.
