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Photo: BNS
BNS photo
Joffrey Lauvergne reached an agreement with Kaunas “Žalgiris” on a new contract valid until 2023 a couple of weeks ago, but he only signed it yesterday, before the game with “Valencia”.
Fines are being issued this season
After saying nothing to team friends before the game, he was happy to announce this message in the locker room after the match, that “Žalgiris” won 79:78 in the last second.
Emotions were not lacking after such a victory, and after that news, the wardrobe was even more so.
This is nothing strange. Playing in Kaunas for the first season, the 29-year-old Lauvergne quickly adapted to the older folks of “Žalgiris” and feels so good here that he won’t be in a rush to leave anytime soon.
“I am at a stage in my career where the most important thing is to enjoy basketball,” argued Lauvergne in favor of extending the contract for the BasketNews.lt website. – I really enjoy it here. We not only won a lot of games, but also the organization, the teammates, the coaches, I really like it.
When you are younger, you worry more about things. Now I care about the basketball situation, it is very good here and I want it to continue ”.
“Žalgiris” has won 8 victories in the last 10 matches, and Lauvergne was a good reason for that. During this stretch, he scored an average of 13 points, bounced 6.8 balls and had 1.9 assists.
On January 8, he played the most productive game of his career, scoring 29 points in Chimki’s basket in the Moscow region, bouncing 9 balls and becoming the Euroleague MVP of the week.
In Valencia, he made several irresponsible mistakes, but played longer this season (31 minutes) and scored the first double: 13 points, 12 rebounds.
The French adaptation to the new environment was not long in coming due to the special circumstances. Keeping in close contact with Leo Westermann, he knew perfectly well how the Žalgiris dressing room lived.
“I talk to Leo every wonderful day,” Lauvergne said. – Even before coming here, I felt like I knew each one of them. He knew a lot about them.
Sometimes he called Leo when he was still playing in Žalgiris and his teammates were by his side. They are great men. As a result, I adapted very quickly, in a few days. “
Lauvergne did not immerse himself in the knowledge of the new country. Even before Lithuania was quarantined, it managed to visit Palanga, Klaipeda, and Trakai.
“I love history and geography, so I like to see everything myself,” Lauvergne said.
His interest in living alongside basketball is also reflected in his visit to the reception of Emmanuel Macron in the Lithuanian Presidency.
At the end of September last year, the President of France visited Lithuania and Lauvergne had the opportunity to meet with the leader of his country. It was an incredible experience, but far from the first of its kind.
“In 2013, I was at a reception with Francois Hollande when he invited us after winning the European Championship. I have met with the President of Serbia 2-3 times because he loves basketball and I do. Meeting these people is a special feeling. And you can see that they love basketball. It is a great honor, “Lauvergne said.
I’m not sure if there will be more meetings with the presidents, but by extending the contract, Lauvergne will have even more opportunities to see the country where he feels so good on the basketball court.
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