Former teammates laud Jankunas ahead of jersey retirement 0

At halftime of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague home opener on Tuesday, Zalgiris Kaunas will honor retired legend Paulius Jankunas by raising his number 13 jersey, never to be worn again, to the rafters of sold-out Zalgirio Arena.

Jankunas debuted in the EuroLeague as a teenager for Zalgiris on November 6, 2003, coming off the bench for 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in a home win over Panathinaikos Athens. A star was born and he played that season alongside the great Arvydas Sabonis (11), one of the other two players, along with Modestas Paulauskas (5), whose numbers Zalgiris has retired.

Last spring, after 19 EuroLeague seasons, 18 of them with Zalgiris, Jankunas hung up his green uniform for good having amassed some of the most prolific totals in the history of the continent’s top competition. He ranks first all-time in games played (392), games started (283), total rebounds (2,010) and defensive rebounds (1,453). He’s second in minutes played (8,390); fourth in offensive rebounds (557); fifth in two-pointers made (1,011), free throws made (748) and fouls drawn (1,045); and eighth in points (3,241).

Beyond the numbers, Jankunas was the epitome of professionalism on and off the court, the kind of presence who inspired teammates like those now playing far from Kaunas who spoke about him in the run-up to Tuesday’s halftime ceremony.