Azuolas Tubelis is making his presence felt in his home country.
The former Arizona Wildcats star forward was named MVP of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the professional basketball league in Lithuania. Tubelis averaged 17.5 points, 7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks in the regular season for Neptunas Klaipeda.
Tubelis recorded the league’s highest efficiency rating since 2017-18. He made 64.2% of 2-pointers and 33.3% of triples.
“I have definitely put in a lot of work and will continue to do so every day,” Tubelis told LKL’s official site, according to a Google translation. “People say I’m not a shooter… I’m not a shooter, but I can definitely shoot the 3-pointer.”
Tubelis and Neptunas are currently competing in the LKL playoffs.
Ką šiandien išdarinėja Ąžuolas Tubelis…
@betsafeLKL pic.twitter.com/kXq0k7rpJb
— BasketNews.lt (@BasketNews_lt) May 1, 2024
Tubelis, who is from Vilnius, Lithuania, said he never imagined he would win MVP of the country’s top hoops league.
“I remember that I used to watch it when I was little, I barely understood basketball, I didn’t think that this would happen one day,” Tubelis said. “I’ve never been the kind of player who looks primarily at himself, at his stats.”
The 22-year-old Tubelis played three seasons at Arizona (2020-23), where he developed into one of the top big men in college basketball. As a junior, he averaged 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, earning consensus Second Team All-American honors.
Tubelis chose to turn pro after the 2022-23 season. He originally signed on with the Philadelphia 76ers as a two-way player before deciding to play in his home country.
So far it appears he made a wise choice.