LKL finals MVP Arnas Butkevicius will join Zalgiris / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: LKL Credit LKL

Zalgiris Kaunas has reached an agreement with the LKL finals MVP Arnas Butkevicius, sources tell BasketNews.

Points this season

45%73,0Points made:73,0Accuracy:44,9%Place in standings:16Record max:103Record min:51Best scorer:Lukas LekavičiusTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

A 29-year-old forward spent the past five years in Rytas Vilnius. He has been the captain of the main Zalgiris rival since 2020.

Rytas tried to retain Butkevicius after winning the first Lithuanian league title in 12 years. Dinamo Sassari also showed interest, but Butkevicius decided to return to the EuroLeague.

1.96 m forward knows Zalgiris head coach Kazys Maksvytis very well.

Under the guidance of Maksvytis, Butkevicius won gold with Lithuania's youth teams in FIBA U19 World Cup and FIBA U20 European Championship.

Also, Butkevicius played for Maksvytis in Neptunas Klaipeda. He had a breakout season there and transferred to Rytas in 2017.

In his debut EuroLeague season 2014-15, Butkevicius averaged 7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and one assist for Neptunas.

Last season, Butkevicius posted 7.4 points, five rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the FIBA Champions League competition.

In the LKL final series against Lietkabelis Panevezys, Butkevicius scored 11 points, grabbed 5.6 rebounds, dished three assists, and had 15.6 EFF per game.

In the BasketNews survey, the LKL players named him the best defensive player of the year.

Butkevicius is also a member of the Lithuanian national team.

Zalgiris Kaunas

Position Player Status PG Mantas Kalnietis Signed until 2023 PG Lukas Lekavicius Signed until 2025 SG Karolis Lukosiunas Signed until 2023 SG Tomas Dimsa Signed until 2022 +1 SF/PF Edgaras Ulanovas Signed until 2024 PF Tyler Cavanaugh Signed until 2023 +1 C Joffrey Lauvergne Signed until 2022 +1 C Josh Nebo Signed until 2022 +1 C Laurynas Birutis (story) Signed until 2024 Coach Kazys Maksvytis (story) Expired contract Tai Webster (won't come back), Janis Strelnieks (won't come back), Niels Giffey (won't come back), Arturas Milaknis, Paulius Jankunas (retiring), Regimantas Miniotas Rumored to leave Joffrey Lauvergne, Josh Nebo (story), Paulius Jankunas (retiring), Arturas Milaknis, Regimantas Miniotas, Marek Blazevic (won't come back) Interested Chris Jones (story), Eigirdas Zukauskas, Arturas Gudaitis, Donatas Motiejunas, Kyle Allman, Caleb Homesley, Darius Thompson (story) More EuroLeague transfer news Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.