Lithuania will be with two of their biggest stars as they attempt to qualify for the Olympics this summer. Both Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas will play for Lithuania, first in qualifiers in early-July, followed by the Olympics in Paris.
Lithuania is in a qualifying group that will play a tournament in Puerto Rico from July 2 through July 7. Lithuania will play in an initial group that includes Ivory Coast and Mexico. The second group will see Bahrain, Italy and host Puerto Rico battle for spots in the knockout phase. One of the six teams will claim a spot in Group C at the Olympics, which already includes the United States, Serbia and South Sudan.
Valanciunas has been a mainstay of the Lithuanian team in recent years. Sabonis did not play in last summer’s FIBA World Cup. Head coach Kazys Maksvytis said that Sabonis sitting out the World Cup was due to coming off a long season with the Sacramento Kings, but that he’s confirmed he’ll play this summer.
In addition to the two NBA veterans, Lithuania hopes to have youngster Matas Buzelis on the roster.
“Matas is ready to participate already this year. We hope he will. It will be very interesting how this situation will turn out if he’s drafted. Will his next team let him play with the national team? Victor Wembanyama did not play with the French national team last year”, Maksvytis said.
Buzelis is a projected lottery pick at the 2024 NBA Draft, which will take place on June 26 and June 27.
