Elias Valtonen

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Elias Valtonen

| image = Valtonen.JPG

| image_size = 170px

| caption = Valtonen with Rostock in 2023

| position = Shooting guard / small forward

| height_m = 2.01

| weight_kg = 88.5

| league = Liga ACB

| team = Covirán Granada

| number = 11

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1999|6|11}}

| birth_place = Eura, Finland

| high_school = Helsinki Basketball Academy
(Helsinki, Finland)

| college = Arizona State (2018–2020)

| career_start = 2013

| career_end =

| draft_year =

| years1 = 2013–2015

| team1 = Korihait

| years2 = 2015–2018

| team2 = HBA-Märsky

| years3 = 2020–2021

| team3 = Tigers Tübingen

| years4 = 2021–2024

| team4 = Baxi Manresa

| years5 = 2022–2023

| team5 = → Rostock Seawolves

| years6 = 2024–present

| team6 = Granada

| highlights =

| medal_templates =

}}

Elias Veikko Juhani Valtonen (born June 11, 1999) is a Finnish professional basketball player for Covirán Granada of the Liga ACB, and for the Finland national team. He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Valtonen is {{convert|2.01|m|ftin|abbr=on}} tall, and plays the shooting guard position.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbadraft.net/players/elias-valtonen|title=Elias Valtonen | NBADraft.net|publisher=nbadraft.net|accessdate=2016-07-10}}

Early life and career

Valtonen started playing basketball in a youth team of his hometown club Euran Veivi. He 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,{{cite web|url=https://scout.com/college/basketball/recruiting/Article/Four-star-wing-Elias-Valtonen-schedules-visits-with-Arizona-Stat-108490602|title=Four-star wing Elias Valtonen schedules two visits; rivals.com|publisher=rivals.com|accessdate=2017-10-12}} 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.

College career

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.{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Michelle |title=ASU sophomore basketball player Elias Valtonen leaves program |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/asu/2020/03/17/asu-sophomore-basketball-player-elias-valtonen-leaves-program/5074676002/ |accessdate=June 20, 2020 |work=Arizona Republic |date=March 17, 2020}} He averaged 2.0 points per game as a sophomore. On March 17, 2020, Valtonen announced he was leaving Arizona State.{{cite news |title=Arizona State guard Elias Valtonen announces he's leaving program |url=https://arizonasports.com/story/2292953/arizona-state-guard-elias-valtonen-announces-hes-leaving-program/ |accessdate=June 20, 2020 |work=Arizona Sports |date=March 17, 2020}}

Professional career

On June 19, 2020, Valtonen signed with Tigers Tübingen of the ProA.{{cite web |title=Valtonen starts his pro career at Tuebingen |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Germany/news/631737/Valtonen-starts-his-pro-career-at-Tuebingen |publisher=Eurobasket.com |accessdate=June 19, 2020 |date=June 19, 2020}}

On May 28, 2021, he signed with Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB and the Basketball Champions League.{{Cite web|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/elias-valtonen-signs-with-manresa/|title=Elias Valtonen signs with Manresa|last=|first=|date=May 28, 2021|website=|publisher=Sportando|language=En|access-date=May 29, 2021}} 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.[https://www.basket.fi/basket/uutiset/elias-valtonen-loppukaudeksi-pelaajavuokralle-saksan-bundesliigaan/ Elias Valtonen loppukaudeksi pelaajavuokralle Saksan Bundesliigaan], basket.fi, 5 December 2022[https://www.basquetmanresa.com/en/news/teams/news/2022/elias-valtonens-first-match-bbl-and-full-victories-leb/ Elias Valtonen's first match in the BBL and full of victories in the LEB], basquetmanresa.com, 12 December 2023

On 28 February 2024, Valtonen joined fellow Liga ACB team Granada for the remainder of the season.[https://yle.fi/a/74-20013000/64-3-212789 Elias Valtoselle uusi seura Espanjassa], Yle, 28 February 2024 At the end of the season, he helped the club to secure their spot in Liga ACB by his game-saving block,[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HP9rUV2hhQA TAPÓN SALVADOR DE ELIAS VALTONEN | Liga Endesa 2023-24], youtube.com and in June 2024, he signed a two-year contract extension with Granada.[https://www.basket.fi/basket/uutiset/elias-valtoselle-kaksivuotinen-jatkosopimus-cb-granadaan/ Elias Valtoselle kaksivuotinen jatkosopimus CB Granadaan], basket.fi, 5 June 2024[https://fundacioncbgranada.es/el-coviran-granada-confirma-las-6-primeras-piezas/ EL COVIRAN GRANADA CONFIRMA LAS 6 PRIMERAS PIEZAS], fundaciongranada.es

National team

Valtonen was part of the Finland U16 squad in the 2015 FIBA U16 EuroBasket in Kaunas, Lithuania, and in Finland U17 squad in the 2016 FIBA U17 World Cup in Zaragoza, Spain.

Valtonen is a member of the Finland senior national team and represented his country in the EuroBasket 2022 and in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He also played in the 2024 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.[https://www.basket.fi/basket/uutiset/susijengin-pelaajatusina-olympiakarsintoihin-on-vahvistettu/ Susijengin pelaajatusina olympiakarsintoihin on vahvistettu], basket.fi, 30 June 2024

Career statistics

=FIBA Champions League=

| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22

| style="text-align:left;"| Manresa

| 14 || || 21.7 || .385 || .194 || .500 || 3.4 || 1.1 || .8 || .6 || 4.6

| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23

| style="text-align:left;"| Manresa

| 3 || || 16.0 || .429 || .444 || .600|| 2.0 || .0 || .3 || .3 || 6.3

=Domestic leagues=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;"

! Year

! Team

! League

! {{Tooltip|GP|Games played}}

! {{Tooltip|MPG|Minutes per game}}

! {{Tooltip|FG%|Field goal percentage}}

! {{Tooltip|3P%|3-point field-goal percentage}}

! {{Tooltip|FT%|Free-throw percentage}}

! {{Tooltip|RPG|Rebounds per game}}

! {{Tooltip|APG|Assists per game}}

! {{Tooltip|SPG|Steals per game}}

! {{Tooltip|BPG|Blocks per game}}

! {{Tooltip|PPG|Points per game}}

| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|FIN|size=20px}} Korihait || style="text-align:center;"|Korisliiga || 5 || 2.2 || .500 || .0 || – || – || .4 || {{sort|-|—}} || {{sort|-|—}} || 0.4

| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|FIN|size=20px}} Korihait || style="text-align:center;"|I-divisioona || 27 || 13.3 || .392 || .304 || .583 || 1.8 || .5 || .3 || .1 || 3.6

| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|FIN|size=20px}} HBA-Märsky || style="text-align:center;"|I-divisioona || 25 || 24.0 || .513 || .375 || .730 || 3.5 || 1.2 || 1.4 || .6 || 7.9

| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|FIN|size=20px}} HBA-Märsky || style="text-align:center;"|I-divisioona || 15 || 26.7 || .388 || .250 || .750 || 5.7 || 2.4 ||1.3 || .8 || 9.0

| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|FIN|size=20px}} HBA-Märsky || style="text-align:center;"|I-divisioona || 20 || 24.6 || .506 || .417 || .762 || 4.8 || 3.0 || 1.7 || .8 || 15.7

| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|GER|size=20px}} Tübingen || style="text-align:center;"|ProA || 23 || 30.0 || .539 || .370 || .802 || 4.8 || 2.5 || 1.1 || 1.0 || 15.8

| style="text-align:left;"| 2021-22 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ESP|size=20px}} Manresa || style="text-align:center;"|ACB || 32 || 22.0 || .450 || .359 || .771 || 2.5 || .7 || .8 || .3 || 7.2

| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ESP|size=20px}} Manresa || style="text-align:center;"|ACB || 5 || 12.0 || .100 || .000 || .750 || 1.2 || .2 || .2 || .0 || 1.0

| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|GER|size=20px}} Rostock || style="text-align:center;"|BBL || 21 || 19.0 || .409 || .200 || .839 || 3.2 || .7 || .7 || .3 || 6.0

| style="text-align:left;"| 2023-24 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ESP|size=20px}} Manresa || style="text-align:center;"|ACB || 18 || 14.2 || .438 || .257 || .643 || 2.6 || .3 || .2 || .4 || 4.6

| style="text-align:left;"| 2023-24 || style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ESP|size=20px}} Granada || style="text-align:center;"|ACB || 12 || 22.0 || .455 || .386 || .889 || 3.7 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 8.6

=College=

| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19

| style="text-align:left;"| Arizona State

| 21 || 0 || 3.7 || .556 || .500 || 1.000 || .4 || .1 || .1 || .2 || .8

| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20

| style="text-align:left;"| Arizona State

| 19 || 8 || 14.3 || .375 || .500 || .467 || 1.8 || .4 || .5 || .1 || 2.0

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 40 || 8 || 8.7 || .415 || .500 || .529 || 1.1 || .2 || .3 || .2 || 1.4

=National team=

class="wikitable" style=" text-align:center;"
Team ! Tournament ! {{Tooltip\|Pos.\|Position}} ! {{Tooltip\|GP\|Games played}} ! {{Tooltip\|PPG\|Points per game}} ! {{Tooltip\|RPG\|Rebounds per game}} ! {{Tooltip\|APG\|Assists per game}}
rowspan=2\|Finland	EuroBasket 2022	7th	{{center\|7}}	{{center\|6.7}}	{{center\|3.1}}	{{center\|1.1}}
2023 FIBA World Cup	21st	{{center\|5}}	{{center\|7.0}}	{{center\|2.4}}	{{center\|1.4}}

class="wikitable" style=" text-align:center;"

Team

! Tournament

! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Position}}

! {{Tooltip|GP|Games played}}

! {{Tooltip|PPG|Points per game}}

! {{Tooltip|RPG|Rebounds per game}}

! {{Tooltip|APG|Assists per game}}

rowspan=2|Finland

EuroBasket 2022

7th

2023 FIBA World Cup