2024-07-18 09:58:56
R. Jokubaitis was invited to the NBA league in 2021 with the 34th draft of the “New York Knicks” team.
However, the Lithuanian competes professionally only in Europe, but every summer he tries to demonstrate his abilities in the NBA summer league.
This summer is no exception. R. Jokubaitis is currently in Las Vegas wearing the “Knicks” team shirt, hoping to convince the managers that he is worthy of playing in the world’s strongest basketball league.
“With the maturity and experience gained in Europe, I think I am ready. And I would like to come here,” Rok told New York Post reporter Stefan Bondy about playing in the NBA.
On the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the New York club represented by a Lithuanian defeated the Sacramento Kings team 106:105 (23:30, 30:23, 25:22, 28:30).
In 21 minutes, the Lithuanian scored 16 points (5/5 doubles, 2/2 triples), 1 rebound and 2 steals, made 5 assists, blocked a shot and made 3 mistakes.
For R. Jokubaičius, it was the most productive match in the summer league. The Lithuanian has also not made more than 2 assists so far.
“He was aggressive on both ends of the floor,” summer league Knicks coach Dice Yoshimoto said after the game. – He received the ball better. He has a better understanding of defensive schemes. He’s done a great job watching match footage so far.”
R. Jokubaitis spent the last three seasons in the “Barcelona” team.
In the 2023/2024 Euroleague season, the Lithuanian averaged 5.3 points, 2.8 assists and 5.5 utility points.
Not having a big role in Spain, R. Jokubaitis started looking for a new team, and reports appeared in the media that the 23-year-old basketball player was approaching an agreement with Kaunas “Žalgiris”.
“The whole of Europe is talking about this,” R. Jokubaitis responded to the rumours. – However, I still have a contract with Barcelona. We are in negotiations with Zalgiris, but the signing of the contract is not yet close. However, I have a contract with Barca and in a few weeks we will see where I will continue my career. But now I have a few games in the summer league and we’ll see what happens next.”
2024-07-18 09:58:56