Jonas Valanciunas Ruled Out vs. Warriors; Thumb Injury Diagnosed as Dislocation

The Toronto Raptors announced Jonas Valanciunas suffered a thumb dislocation in Wednesday's game against the Golden State Warriors and would not return.

Valanciunas was a key contributor for the Raptors last season when they won a franchise-record 59 games. The 7-footer led the team with 8.6 rebounds per game and finished third on the team with 12.7 points per contest.

He's been just as effective so far in 2018-19 with 13.0 points and 7.2 rebounds and has appeared in all 29 games to this point.

The No. 5 overall pick in 2011, Valanciunas has had some injury problems throughout his career. He missed 20 games as a rookie during the 2012-13 season and 22 games during the 2015-16 season. He's been durable for the past two seasons, appearing in 157 of 164 possible games.

Acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs during the offseason has the Raptors sitting atop the NBA with a 22-7 record.

Even with the loss of Valanciunas, the Raptors shouldn't suffer a steep drop in overall production. Leonard (who missed his second straight game with a hip injury Wednesday), Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka and Danny Green give head coach Nick Nurse plenty of talent to work with as they look to stay in front of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division.