Rokas Jokubaitis (born 19 November 2000) is a Lithuanian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

Early life and youth career

Jokubaitis was born in

Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; ; ) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 32,000, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania and eighteenth largest city in the Baltic States. Th ...

, Lithuania. He grew up playing youth basketball at the Vladas Knašius Basketball School in

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

before moving to the youth academy of Žalgiris. Jokubaitis was named to the all-tournament team at the 2018 Kaunas Tournament after averaging 15 points and 8.3 assists per game and leading Žalgiris to a third-place finish.

Professional career

Žalgiris (2017–2021)

On 9 January 2018, Jokubaitis scored a game-high 31 points for Žalgiris-2 in a highly publicized

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against

LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball ( ; born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draf ...

and

Prienai Prienai () is a city in Lithuania situated on the Nemunas River, south of Kaunas. In 2023, the city had 8,894 inhabitants. The name of the city is a derivative from the surname ''Prienas''. Pociūnai Airport is associated with the city. Histor ...

. On 5 May, he made his senior debut for Žalgiris in its

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

(LKL) regular season finale against

Pieno žvaigždės Pieno žvaigždės is fourth-largest dairy products company in Lithuania., uniting Mažeikiai dairy, Kaunas dairy, Pasvalys creamery and company "Panevėžio pienas". Pieno žvaigždės is listed in the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius under the ticker sym ...

. In the 2018–19 season, Jokubaitis was named the Best Young Player in the second-tier National Basketball League after averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game for Žalgiris-2. On 14 June 2019, Jokubaitis signed a three-year contract extension with Žalgiris. In the 2020–21 season, he averaged seven points and 2.5 assists per game in the

. Jokubaitis was the runner-up to

Usman Garuba Destiny Usman Garuba Alari (born 9 March 2002) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid Baloncesto, Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Listed at , he plays at both the power forward and center (basketball ...

for the

EuroLeague Rising Star The EuroLeague Rising Star in an annual EuroLeague awards, award of the EuroLeague, which is the European professional club basketball system, top-tier level European-wide professional club basketball league, that is given to the player the EuroLe ...

award. He averaged eight points and four assists per game in the LKL and was named Best Young Player of the league.

FC Barcelona (2021–2024)

On 21 July 2021, Jokubaitis signed a four-year contract with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and the

. In 2023–24 in 74 games averaging 16 minutes per game he averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 assists per game and shot 50% on two-point field goals. On 23 July 2024, Jokubaitis mutually parted ways with the club.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2024–present)

On 24 July 2024, Jokubaitis signed with

of the

and the Euroleague.

NBA draft rights

Jokubaitis was selected with the 34th overall pick by the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

. Later on the draft-day, his rights were traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, alongside Miles McBride, in exchange for

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Jeremiah Christian Robinson-Earl (born November 3, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. High scho ...

. On 3 August 2021, it was announced that Jokubaitis would return to FC Barcelona after the conclusion of the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league c ...

National team career

Jokubaitis played for

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

at the

2016 FIBA U16 European Championship The 2016 FIBA U16 European Championship was the 30th edition of the FIBA U16 European Championship, European Under-16 Basketball Championship. Sixteen teams participated in the competition, held in Radom, Poland, from 12 to 20 August 2016. Bosnia ...

in Poland. He averaged 10 points and helped his team win a silver medal. Jokubaitis was the youngest player at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Egypt, averaging 10 points and 5.3 assists per game for the sixth-place team. At the

2018 FIBA U18 European Championship The 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 35th edition of the FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of ...

in Latvia, he averaged 12.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as his team finished fifth. Jokubaitis led

to fourth place at the

2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο Μπάσκετ FIBA Under-19 2019) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

in Greece, where he averaged 11.3 points and 5.6 assists per game. On 24 February 2020, Jokubaitis made his senior national team debut for Lithuania during EuroBasket qualification. In June and July 2021, he played at the

FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, abbreviated as FIBA World OQT, and formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from th ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Personal life

Jokubaitis' father, , played professional basketball in Lithuania and Poland. His mother and sister also played the sport. On 12 December 2020, a man was arrested in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

after scamming €10,000 from a woman he had dated for months by impersonating Jokubaitis.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3", Žalgiris , 12 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .500 , , .200 , , .800 , , .5 , , .6 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.6 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 10 , , 0 , , 6.4 , , .444 , , .500 , , .750 , , .5 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.2 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 31 , , 5 , , 20.9 , , .454 , , .388 , , .756 , , 1.7 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 7.0 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 37 , , 2 , , 16.7 , , .563 , , .568 , , .714 , , 1.6 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 7.1 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 39 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .416 , , .413 , , .776 , , 2.0 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.3 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 36 , , 2 , , 15.5 , , .443 , , .277 , , .652 , , 1.7 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.3 , , 5.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 165 , , 9 , , 15.4 , , .470 , , .406 , , .742 , , 1.6 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 5.6 , , 6.0

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris-2 , , style="text-align:center;", NKL , , 46 , , 24.7 , , .458 , , .333 , , .822 , , 2.8 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , , style="text-align:center;", LKL , , 3 , , 12.9 , , .615 , , .250 , , , , 2.0 , , 2.3 , , .3 , , , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris-2 , , style="text-align:center;", NKL , , 22 , , 24.8 , , .537 , , .371 , , .710 , , 3.4 , , 5.0 , , .9 , , .1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , , style="text-align:center;", LKL , , 34 , , 11.4 , , .442 , , .250 , , .774 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , , style="text-align:center;", LKL , , 19 , , 17.3 , , .542 , , .457 , , .808 , , 2.1 , , 2.7 , , .5 , , .0 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , , style="text-align:center;", LKL , , 43 , , 20.0 , , .477 , , .330 , , .689 , , 1.6 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .0 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 39 , , 16.9 , , .493 , , .409 , , .753 , , 1.7 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 42 , , 18.7 , , .446 , , .310 , , .788 , , 2.0 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 34 , , 16.6 , , .576 , , .500 , , .719 , , 1.4 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .0 , , 7.0

References

External links

EuroLeague profileRealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jokubaitis, Rokas 2000 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century Lithuanian sportsmen BC Žalgiris players BC Žalgiris-2 players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Liga ACB players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Spain Lithuanian men's basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks People from Mažeikiai Point guards Sportspeople from Telšiai County