The 12 Greatest Raptors in history, ranked by Player Efficiency Rating (PER)

No. 4: Jonas Valanciunas, 19.7

It seemed inevitable for those familiar with the statistic PER that Jonas Valanciunas would rank highly on this list. His game seems perfectly designed for a statistic that loves efficient scoring, rebounds and blocks. That's why a player who never ranked Top-10 at his position in the NBA can rank fourth all-time in a franchise ranking of PER.

The Raptors drafted the Lithuanian center with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and he would play his first seven seasons with Toronto, becoming a starter within weeks of his debut as a rookie and never looking back. He manned the middle for a number of very good Toronto teams, forming something of a stout third leg along with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

For his career, Valanciunas averaged 11.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game on an efficient 55.9 percent shooting from the field. He was (and is) a freight train down low, bullying opposing bigs and clearing space for himself and his teammates to rebound the ball. He particularly excelled on the offensive glass and served to put an enormous amount of pressure on opponents.

Valanciunas was never an elite rim protector, nor was he skilled enough on offense to unlock scheme versatility for the team. They got better when they replaced him with Marc Gasol, at least in the context of their championship run in 2019. Even so, he was a bruiser down low and proved himself in all of the ways that PER loves, landing him fourth on the list.