Valencia Basket has reached an agreement with Finnish small forward Elias Valtonen (2.01m, born June 11, 1999, age 27) to join the club on a non-guaranteed contract that, if ratified, would run through the end of the 2026-27 season.
The player arrives as a free agent after completing his stint with Covirán Granada, where last season he averaged 9.8 points with a 37.1% three-point shooting rate, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Combining his previous time with Baxi Manresa with his last three seasons with the Andalusian team, Valtonen has accumulated 118 games in the Liga Endesa spread across five seasons.
Early Steps
Elias Valtonen played his first game in the Finnish top division at just 14 years old with Korihait, continued his development at the prestigious Helsinki Basketball Academy-Marsky, and in 2018 made the jump to the NCAA with Arizona State. After limited playing time in his freshman year and despite increased minutes in his sophomore season, Valtonen decided in 2020 to leave his college career and begin his professional path. Germany was his first stop, with a standout role in the second division with Tigers Tübingen (15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists). A strong campaign that opened the door to the Liga Endesa at age 22 with Baxi Manresa.
Extensive Liga Endesa Experience
Valtonen was the first signing for that Bages team that reached the Basketball Champions League final in the 2021-22 season and despite his youth, was an important piece averaging 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds across all competitions. He started the following season with Baxi Manresa, but in December 2022 left on loan to Rostock Seawolves of the Bundesliga to finish that season.
Valtonen played more than the first half of the 2023-24 season with Baxi Manresa but parted ways with the Catalan team and joined Covirán Granada for the final twelve games to be an important piece in the Andalusian team's survival with 8.6 points on 38.6% three-point shooting and 3.7 rebounds.
Consolidation at Covirán Granada
His time at Covirán Granada has marked his consolidation as an important player within the Liga Endesa. An undisputed starter for the Andalusian team in the last two seasons, in the 2024-25 season he finished with an average of 9.3 points on 41.5% three-point shooting and 3.6 rebounds for a 9.0 rating. In the 2025-26 season he posted his best offensive numbers with 9.8 points with 1.4 three-pointers made per game on 37.1% efficiency, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists while being the tenth player with the most court time (25:29 minutes).
A Regular with the Finnish National Team
Elias began to attract attention from the basketball world through Finland's youth categories, being one of the leading scorers at the 2015 U16M EuroBasket and with a standout performance at the 2016 U17M World Championship. Since his debut with the senior national team in 2020, Valtonen has competed in the 2022 EuroBasket, the 2023 World Cup, and was one of the key players in Finland reaching the semifinals of EuroBasket 2025 with a contribution of 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds for an 8.2 rating, scoring 18 points in the bronze medal game.