Former Arizona standout forward Ąžuolas Tubelis has been named the MVP of Lithuanian's top pro league after leading Neptūnas Klaipėda into the LKL playoffs.
Becoming the first native Lithuanian to earn the MVP award since 2018-19, Tubelis averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 64.2% from two-point range and 33.3 from 3. He also averaged 1.1 blocks per game.
In an interview with the official LKL website, Tubelis said he never thought he'd win the award after watching the league as youth who "barely understood basketball" but figured his statistics were putting him in position to win as the season moved on.
"I knew that I would be among the candidates," Tubelis said, according to a Google translation of the LKL interview. "I believed in myself and one of the smaller goals for me personally was to receive this award and to continue the good performance with the team. We will try to do that again."
Over three seasons at Arizona, Tubelis developed into one of college basketball's top players. After signing with former UA coach Sean Miller and moving into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2021-22, Tubelis became a second-team all-American in 2022-23, and the apparent runner-up to UCLA's Jaime Jaquez for the Pac-12 Player of the Year award.
Tubelis left the Wildcats after the 2022-23 season and signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent. The deal would have allowed the 76ers to shuttle Tubelis back and forth to their G League club in Delaware, but the Sixers cut Tubelis completely during the exhibition season when they re-signed Ricky Council IV.
Tubelis then returned to Lithuanian and signed a three-year deal with BC Rytas, the club in his hometown of Vilnius.
Tubelis played for Rytas' youth club before joining Arizona for the 2020-21 season, and Rytas had retained his rights but opted to loan Tubelis to Neptunas for 2023-24 reportedly because of the team's crowded front court.
Tubelis told the LKL his varied experiences, which included playing for the Lithuanian national team and with the 76ers for Summer League and preseason play, helped him adjust this season.
Among the biggest differences: While he averaged under one 3-point attempt for Arizona in 2022-23, making 31.3% of them, Tubelis was 29 for 88 from long range (32.9%) over 23 games with Neptunas in 2023-24.
"I remember in America everyone took risks and I was uncomfortable myself," Tubelis told LKL's website. "I have definitely put in a lot of work and will continue to do so every day. People say I'm not a shooter... I'm not a shooter, but I can definitely shoot the 3-pointer. I will try to develop and improve it even more."
