Memphis Grizzlies C Jonas Valanciunas has been playing the best basketball of his career
I’m not huge on the PER rating, but there is a reason why Jonas Valanciunas has the best PER on this team by a relatively wide margin.
He’s 3rd in the NBA in rebounds per game and has proven to be an absolute force in the paint, averaging a double-double on the year. He has taken a step forward on the Memphis Grizzlies that close to nobody expected him to take.
In the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr., he did not wither. Instead, he stepped up and became a better player. In the past month, he has actually looked like an NBA All-Star caliber center. Unfortunately, this has come a little late for him to receive the honor, but he is establishing himself as one of the best big men in the game.
Valanciunas has made 57% of his shots this season and has actually been a serviceable long-range shooter, making over 31% of this 3-pointers. This is part of how he manages to average the second-most points on the team with 15.8.
His season also included a 29-point, 20 rebound game, which doesn’t happen often in the NBA. If he continues to develop, I imagine this will become a more regular thing, especially when he can play alongside Jaren Jackson Jr.
JV has been the one and only key contributor on this team who has played a consistent game each night, and that’s why he’s at the number one spot on this list.