MIES (Switzerland) - Modestas Paulauskas, who became the youngest MVP at the FIBA EuroBasket 56 years ago in Moscow at just 20 years of age, is being inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Paulauskas wasted no time writing his name in the annals of international basketball. He was the brightest of stars at FIBA EuroBasket 1965 in Moscow, earning the MVP honor. It started a storybook run with the Soviet Union's senior team, one that concluded in 1974 when he lifted the FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy in Puerto Rico.

Paulauskas often received awards and handshakes during his brilliant playing career

The Lithuanian legend, along with unforgettable players Isabelle Fijalkowski (France), Mieczyslaw Lopatka (Poland),  Steve Nash (Canada), Agnes Nemeth (Hungary), Park Shin-ja (Korea), Modestas Paulauskas (Lithuania), Kenichi Sako (Japan), Alexander Volkov (Ukraine) and Jure Zdovc (Slovenia), and fabled coaches Ruben Magnano (Argentina),  Svetislav Pesic (Serbia) and Tara VanDerveer (USA), make up the Class of 2020.

A 1.93m (6ft 4in) juggernaut guard/forward with a fearless approach, Paulauskas took on the best guards but also mixed it up with opposing bigs in battles for rebounds. He earned respect with a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Podium finish after podium finish garnered a trophy cabinet full of medals for Paulauskas, who proudly said, in the 2019 documentary, The History of the FIBA Basketball World Cup,  of spending a life in basketball: "If it's true love, you never get bored of it."

Paulauskas could score, and he could also deliver the no-look pass

It would not have happened had Paulauskas and his Soviet teammates boarded their original flight to Italy for the inaugural FIBA European Championship for Junior Men in1964. That airplane had a tragic ending, crashing. There were no survivors.

The Soviet team did, however, eventually travel and not only took part but captured the title, and Paulauskas revealed himself to be one of the rising stars on the international stage by averaging more than 21 points per game.

Just one year later and Paulauskas was already a star in the senior team, trading blows with the best on the continent at FIBA EuroBasket 1965 in the Soviet Union and he spearheaded the team’s campaign which saw them win all nine games and defeat Yugoslavia in the Final.

Though the Soviets fell by one point in their game against the United States at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 1967 in Uruguay despite 16 points from Paulauskas , they prevailed in their other eight games and Paulauskas claimed his first title in the competition.

Paulauskas again led the way in scoring and underlined his status as not only the top Lithuanian player at that time but the best in the Soviet Union.

While the Soviet Union captured bronze at the following year's Olympics in Mexico City, gold did not elude Paulauskas four years later.

Paulauskas (No. 5) played for the Soviet Union in the famous 1972 Olympic Final 

At the Munich Games in 1972, he got his Olympic gold while averaging more than 11 points as the Soviets won all nine of their games. His national team career finished with a second world title in Puerto Rico, where he helped the Soviets march to eight victories in nine attempts, with their European rivals Yugoslavia the only team to inflict defeat on them.

Not only did he shine for the Soviet Union in international basketball, Paulauskas had an everlasting bond as a player with Zalgiris Kaunas, his club from 1962 to 1976. Zalgiris retired his No. 5 jersey.

FIBA