By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Lithuania arrives at EuroBasket 2025 with high hopes and a clear focus, led by NBA veteran Jonas Valančiūnas.
As the only NBA player on the squad, Valančiūnas carries the weight of experience, leadership, and expectation, guiding a youthful and energetic team through a highly competitive Group B, facing hosts Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, and Montenegro, with every game carrying significance in the fast-paced, high-intensity tournament format.
For Valančiūnas, representing his country has always been more than just playing basketball.
“I’ve always felt honored to represent my country, play for my country. Every time I step on the court with a green or white jersey, I feel amazing, I feel honored, and I want to do this as long as I’m capable,” he said, speaking to FIBA.
He described EuroBasket as feeling closer to home compared to other tournaments: “It’s closer to our region, to our base. Every tournament is important, but the European championship feels more like home, so I’m glad to be here.”
On the intensity of such a short tournament, Valančiūnas explained: “There’s always a minimum of rest and a lot of games. But that’s what makes it interesting. You don’t just have to play well—you have to recover and be ready the next day. Only the stronger survive.”
Mental preparation is just as important as physical readiness: “Every tournament is a challenge—mental, body, basketball. To perform at your best, you have to put everything together: recovery, mental stage, dedication. Everything comes into one if you want to win.”
He described the Lithuanian squad as young, energetic, and committed.: “We’re fighters. We come in to fight, not just look pretty. We’re here to give everything on the court.”
When asked about other teams, Valančiūnas stressed respect for every opponent: “Every team is dangerous. Basketball is unpredictable. One day you’re the toughest team, the next you can lose to someone you didn’t expect. We respect every opponent, but we also respect ourselves and are here to fight until the last whistle.”
While big names like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and others make the tournament exciting, he believes all teams have the potential to shake things up: “I think every team is capable. We have some big names coming. Serbia, Turkey, Germany, we have Slovenia with Luka and, Greece with Giannis… We have a lot of a lot of a lot of big names, but that feel like every team is capable and every team can make some shake.”
Ultimately, fans can expect exciting, high-level basketball: “We’re here to put up the show, put up the great basketball for 40 minutes. Every night we play. So that’s why we’re here and that’s what we’re going to do.”