The Lithuanian center will spend two more seasons in the principality
Donatas Motiejunas agrees to new deal with Monaco
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AS Monaco has confirmed that center Donatas Motiejunas agreed to terms on a two-year deal to remain with the club.
Motiejunas (2.13 meters, 33 years old) has spent the last three years with Monaco. Last season, he averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 39 games, starting 32 times, as Monaco made the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs for the third straight season.
The Lithuanian center came through Zalgiris Kaunas's academy and played three EuroLeague games for the club in 2007-08. Following a season at Aisciai Kaunas, Motiejunas moved to Italy, where he signed for Benetton Treviso, where he competed in the EuroCup. His next EuroLeague action came with Polish side Prokom Trefl Sopot in 2011-12.
Motiejunas joined the Houston Rockets in the NBA in 2012 and spent four season there. Then came a brief spell with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016-17 before heading to China, playing for the Shandong Golden Stars between 2017 and 2019. The big man remained in China for the following two years, suiting up for the Shanghai Sharks (2019-20) and Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2020-21).
In the summer of 2021, Motiejunas came back to Europe by signing for Monaco, which had just made the jump to the EuroLeague after winning the EuroCup. With Motiejunas at center, Monaco made the playoffs as the seventh seed and took Olympiacos Piraeus to a Game 5, but lost in Greece.
The following season, Monaco had the fourth-best regular-season record and beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the playoffs, allowing Motiejunas to head back to his hometown of Kaunas for the Final Four. However, Olympiacos came back to beat Monaco in the semifinals. In the 2023-24 campaign, Monaco secured the third seed but ended up falling to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the playoffs, losing Game 5 in the principality.