Barcelona tabs combo guard Jokubaitis

FC Barcelona strengthened its backcourt by inking Lithuanian combo guard Rokas Jokubaitis to a four-year deal, the club announced Wednesday. Jokubaitis (193 cm, 20 years old) arrives from Zalgiris Kaunas, where he averaged 7.0 points and 2.5 assists in 31 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He finished in second place in the Rising Star voting by EuroLeague head coaches, right behind Usman Garuba of Real Madrid. Jokubaitis started his career with Zalgiris’s youth teams.

He also played for Neptunas Klaipeda’s second squad before making his Zalgiris first-team debut in the 2017-18 season. He became a full member of Zalgiris’s first squad in 2019. Rokas Jokubaitis helped his team win three Lithuanian League and two Lithuanian League titles and reached the EuroLeague Playoffs in 2019. He has also been a member of the Lithuanian national team. Jokubaitis helped Lithuania get a silver medal at the 2016 U16 European Championships and a bronze medal at the 2017 U18 European Championships.