Jonas Valanciunas (C, MEM) - Fantasy Basketball Draft Values

Jonas Valanciunas is a fantasy basketball draft sleeper for the 2021 NBA season. Target him as a value pick in this season's drafts.

BALLER MOVE: Target Around 54 Overall

CURRENT ADP: 69

ANALYSIS: After playing just 49 games in 2019, Jonas Valanciunas was on the court 70 times last year as a full-time Grizzlie for the first time since Toronto traded him two years ago. And oh boy, did he delivered. JoVa, while averaging a lo 26.4 mpg for the Grizz in 2020, still racked up 35 FPPG and averaged a monster-efficient 1.33 FP/min that ranked 16th among all players in the NBA with 1,000+ minutes of playing time.

While it is true that Valanciunas finished the season as the 11th-best (in total fantasy points) center-eligible player (that includes the likes of Giannis and Siakam, though...) it must be taken into account how he did so while playing the fewest minutes among the top-28 players in that group. JoVa's production and efficiency were insane, no questions asked. Even the smallest of upticks in Valanciunas playing time should give his numbers a boost--and his main competition at the position, Jaren Jackson Jr., is expected to be out until the end of January at least.

Only Valanciunas, Joel Embiid, and Hassan Whiteside averaged a 14-11 line in 2020 while playing less than 30 mpg. Oh, and Valanciunas is the first player ever to average a 14-11 in fewer than 28 minutes per game. And if that isn't impressive enough to convince you of drafting Jonas earlier, he put the cherry on top by averaging 1.9 apg and 1.1 bpg while turning the ball over just 1.1 times per game. Take that for data.

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