Elias_Valtonen
Elias Valtonen
Finnish basketball player
Elias Veikko Juhani Valtonen (born June 11, 1999) is a Finnish professional basketball player for Granada of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Valtonen is 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) tall, and plays the shooting guard position.[1]
Valtonen with Rostock in 2023 | |
| Covirán Granada | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
| League | Liga ACB |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1999-06-11) June 11, 1999 (age 24) Eura, Finland |
| Listed height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Listed weight | 88.5 kg (195 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Helsinki Basketball Academy (Helsinki, Finland) |
| College | Arizona State (2018–2020) |
| Playing career | 2013–present |
| Career history | |
| 2013–2015 | Korihait |
| 2015–2018 | HBA-Märsky |
| 2020–2021 | Tigers Tübingen |
| 2021–2024 | Manresa |
| 2022–2023 | → Rostock Seawolves |
| 2024–present | Granada |
Valtonen made his debut for Korihait in Finnish top league Korisliiga in February 2014, at the age of 14. He played five games in total during his rookie season, while the team finished last and was relegated. In the summer of 2015, Valtonen moved to Helsinki to play in the highly regarded academy team HBA-Märsky, coached by former NBA player Hanno Möttölä.
Valtonen was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic Camp in 2015. He has been recruited by several American colleges, including Illinois, Arizona State,[2] Arizona and Utah. On October 13, 2017, Valtonen announced that he'd commit to Arizona State after his current season in Finland was finished with.
Valtonen played collegiately at Arizona State for two seasons. He scored a career-high 10 points in a win over St. John's on November 23, 2019.[3] He averaged 2.0 points per game as a sophomore. On March 17, 2020, Valtonen announced he was leaving Arizona State.[4]
On June 19, 2020, Valtonen signed with Tigers Tübingen of the ProA.[5]
On May 28, 2021, he signed with Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB.[6] On 5 December 2022, it was announced that Valtonen was loaned out to German Basketball Bundesliga team Rostock Seawolves for the rest of the ongoing 2022–23 season. He returned to Manresa in the summer 2023.[7][8]
On 28 February 2024, Valtonen joined fellow Liga ACB team Granada for the remainder of the season.[9]
A former youth international, Valtonen represented Finland senior national team in the EuroBasket 2022 and in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Arizona State | 21 | 0 | 3.7 | .556 | .500 | 1.000 | .4 | .1 | .1 | .2 | .8 |
| 2019–20 | Arizona State | 19 | 8 | 14.3 | .375 | .500 | .467 | 1.8 | .4 | .5 | .1 | 2.0 |
| Career | 40 | 8 | 8.7 | .415 | .500 | .529 | 1.1 | .2 | .3 | .2 | 1.4 | |
- "Elias Valtonen | NBADraft.net". nbadraft.net. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- "Four-star wing Elias Valtonen schedules two visits; rivals.com". rivals.com. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
- Gardner, Michelle (March 17, 2020). "ASU sophomore basketball player Elias Valtonen leaves program". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- "Arizona State guard Elias Valtonen announces he's leaving program". Arizona Sports. March 17, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- "Valtonen starts his pro career at Tuebingen". Eurobasket.com. June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- "Elias Valtonen signs with Manresa". Sportando. May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- Elias Valtonen loppukaudeksi pelaajavuokralle Saksan Bundesliigaan, basket.fi, 5 December 2022
- Elias Valtonen's first match in the BBL and full of victories in the LEB, basquetmanresa.com, 12 December 2023
- Elias Valtoselle uusi seura Espanjassa, Yle, 28 February 2024