Arvydas Sabonis

Arvydas Romas Sabonis (born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman.

Recognized as one of the best European players of all time and one of the best big-man passers in the history of the game, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice.

He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ACB League, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Sabonis made his professional club debut in 1981, with one of the oldest basketball teams in Lithuania, Žalgiris, in his hometown of Kaunas.

Sabonis was originally selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 77th overall pick of the 1985 NBA draft.

However, the selection was voided because Sabonis was under 21 at the time of the draft.

The following spring, he suffered a devastating Achilles' tendon injury.

Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but he did not play his first NBA game until 1995, at the age of 30.

With the club, he won three consecutive Soviet Premier League titles, and the 1986 FIBA Club World Cup (FIBA Intercontinental Cup).

Nevertheless, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, with the 24th overall pick of the 1986 NBA draft.

Sabonis was not allowed to play in the US by the Soviet authorities, despite LSU Tigers head coach Dale Brown's plans to have Sabonis studying and playing at Louisiana State University, thus keeping him in an amateur status.

Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games representing Lithuania.

However, he did go to Portland, to rehabilitate his injury with the Blazers medical staff, in 1988, while also practicing with the team.

In 1989, Sabonis left Žalgiris, and signed with the Spanish Liga ACB club Fórum Valladolid.

During the 1991–92 season, Sabonis helped the team to reach the semifinals at the Korać Cup.

In 1992, after playing with Fórum Valladolid for three seasons, Sabonis joined the Spanish club Real Madrid, and with them, he won two Spanish League titles, and a FIBA European League (EuroLeague) title, in 1994–95.

With Real Madrid, during the 1994–95 Spanish League season, he averaged 22.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 blocked shots, in 42 games played.

While in the 1994–95 FIBA European League season, he averaged 21.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, in 17 games played.

After the 1994–95 European season, Sabonis and Portland contacted one another about a move to the NBA.

Before signing Sabonis, Portland's then-general manager, Bob Whitsitt, asked the Blazers team physician to look at Sabonis' X-rays.

Sabonis averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 1997–98, all career-highs.

During Sabonis's first stint in Portland, the Blazers always made the playoffs (part of a 21-year streak); between 1998 and 1999, the Oregon franchise changed large parts of its roster in order to compete for the NBA Championship (after six consecutive first round losses) with center Sabonis the only player remaining in the starting five.

Kenny Anderson and Isaiah Rider were traded for Damon Stoudamire and Steve Smith.

In both those years, the Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals.

In 1999, they were swept by the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs, while, the next year, the team (starting Sabonis, Smith, Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace, and recently added Scottie Pippen) lost to the Los Angeles Lakers (at the beginning of the team's three-peat), in seven games.

He retired from professional basketball in 2005.

On August 20, 2010, Sabonis was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his great play in international competition.

On April 4, 2011, Sabonis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was inducted on August 12, 2011.

On October 24, 2011, Sabonis was voted as the next President of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, replacing Vladas Garastas, who had led the LBF since 1991.

Illustrating the impact of Sabonis' numerous injuries, Whitsitt recalled in a 2011 interview, that when the doctor reported the results, "He said that Arvydas could qualify for a handicapped parking spot, based on the X-ray alone."

Nevertheless, the Blazers signed Sabonis.

He had a successful rookie campaign, averaging 14.5 points, on 55% shooting, and 8.1 rebounds per game while playing less than 24 minutes per game.

Sabonis was selected to the All-Rookie First Team and was runner-up in both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year voting.

His postseason averages went up to 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

In the first playoff series of his NBA career, Portland lost to Utah in five games.

He resigned from the position on October 2, 2013, but he came back to it on October 10, 2013.

His son, Domantas Sabonis, plays for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Born in Kaunas, in then Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union, Sabonis began playing basketball at age 13.

By the time he was 15 years old, he was a member of the Soviet national junior team.

Sabonis was excused from mandatory service to the Soviet Army, by enrolling at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, in his hometown.