EuroLeague stars congratulate retiring Paulius Jankunas on his career / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Zalgiris Kaunas Credit Zalgiris Kaunas

Zalgiris Kaunas legend Paulius Jankunas will play his last EuroLeague game today against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. It will cap off his illustrious 19-year European career. Before the match, multiple stars of the tournament took their time to congratulate Jankunas on his career and retirement.

Zalgiris Kaunas / Schedule

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Zalgiris Kaunas96-79 Zalgiris Kaunas Crvena Zvezda BelgradeSun16:00 Zenit Saint Petersburg Zalgiris KaunasFri17:00

"Paulius Jankunas. Legend. Congrats to you my man," FC Barcelona superstar Nikola Mirotic said in the Zalgiris video. "Best for you on your retirement. Enjoy your life, the best is about to come. It was a huge honor to compete against you."

Multiple wishes were sent from Monaco where three former Zalgiris players currently reside and play. Donatas Motiejunas, Brock Motum, and Leo Westermann all sent their congratulations to the retiring forward.

"Hi Janki, you know I used to call you a very good French wine because you were getting better throughout the years. Now I feel that you're a little bit old, it's tough," Westermann said. "Without joking, I cherished every moment on the court with you. It was such an honor to play with you and to witness you becoming a Zalgiris and EuroLeague legend. I wish you all the best in your new life."

Olympiacos Piraeus head coach Georgios Bartzokas also congratulated Jankunas on his career. "I would like to congratulate you on your amazing career," the coach noted. "You showed European basketball your loyalty for 20 straight years. I wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do in your life from now on. All the best!"

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul superstars Nando de Colo and Jan Vesely sent their wishes as well. "Congratulations on your long career with amazing achievements," de Colo said. "Bravo, you've put your name on top of some all-time EuroLeague lists. Now, I just wish you the best for what's coming, and enjoy your retirement."

"Congratulations on a historic legendary career, it was an honor to play with you. For those two years, I learned a lot from you. Also, taught you a lot," former teammate and current Barcelona player Nigel Hayes-Davis said. "It was a great time, I enjoyed every game with you, it was fantastic. It was fantastic to play with a living legend and I wish you much success after basketball."

The video was capped off with former Zalgiris and current Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.

"Biggest congratulations on your amazing career, thank you for all you've done for our club, thank you for everything you've done for me. Having you alongside was the greatest thing for me as a young coach," Saras noted.

"I saw you dunking in one of the last games. Maybe you should think a little more?" the coach continued. "If you did a similar dunk against Olympiacos 5 years ago and did the same now, maybe it's not that bad. There's still a little to think about it and come back."

"All in all, the biggest congrats once again, we love you very much. You've made a lot of people very happy," Jasikevicius finished his statement.

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