Justin Anderson will continue with Valencia Basket until the end of the season, the club announced on Tuesday. Anderson joined the ACB club on a 45-days contract and proved that he can be part of a EuroLeague club after joining the league for the first time in his career.
Justin Anderson started the season with Breogan in Spain, but injuries in Valencia’s roster brought him to the “Taronja” on December 24. He made nine appearances in EuroLeague offering strong contribution to both ends of the floor and his “two-way” play guaranteed him a deal until the end of this season.
Justin Anderson is averaging 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game in nine EuroLeague appearances. He has averages of 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in the ACB this year with Breogan and Valencia. Anderson spent the last two seasons in the G League and was named All-NBA G League 3rd Team (2021,2023) and All-NBA G League 1st Team in 2022.
He did not find a contract in the NBA the past offseason and joined Breogan before making the jump to the EuroLeague in December. The former 21st pick of the 2015 draft started his career in the Dallas Mavericks and established a role as a wing defender in the league appearing in 242 NBA games during his stints with the 76ers, the Hawks, the Cavs and the Pacers.
Justin Anderson offers wing depth and hustle plays
Justin Anderson (1.96 cm) comes in as an undersized wing that can defend players in the perimeter. His 2.11 cm wingspan helps him in the defensive end adding rebounds and steals in his statline. He has also established his place as a spot up shooter making 40% of his threes in his first 9 EuroLeague games.
More importantly, he adds more defensive value to an already defensive dominant squad allowing just 75.9 points per game. Anderson is playing “bigger” than his size as he shows it during the last five games having more than 2 rebounds in 3 of his last 5 games adding also at least one steal in three of his last five. Anderson knows his role but also thinks he’s capable to give more on offense.
“I know I’m very confident in my offensive ability as well. Talking to Alex [Mumbru] when I first got here, he wanted me to be a tenacious defender. He wanted me to be a tenacious team player, great in the locker room and bring what I bring,” Justin Anderson said in a recent interview with Sports Rabbi.
“I wanted to make sure that I checked off the boxes of what this team needs, because it’s not always easy coming into a team in the middle of the season when they already have their pieces.”
