DOB: 19 December 1964
Place of birth: Kaunas
Height: 2.20m (7-3)
Weight: 135kg
Position: Center

A true living legend, the best Lithuanian player ever and probably one of Europe’s elite when it came to shining on the basketball court – these words would best describe Arvydas Sabonis. The center was definitely an inspiration source to the vast majority of Lithuania’s kids, who all wanted to be “like Sabonis” when they grew up.

His career was rich in titles and trophies – from winning the World Championships in Colombia at the age of 18 to taking his first ever Lithuanian League title with Zalgiris Kaunas 22 years later in his retirement year. However, the victories that Sabonis is most praised for have been achieved with the Lithuanian National Team – two Olympic bronze medals and the scandalous second place finish in the European Championships in Greece.

In fact, Sabonis, together with the whole team of Zalgiris Kaunas, was seen as a symbol for the country’s uprising. The games against CSKA Moscow were indeed like a war as it was the only way Lithuania could resist the Soviet occupants.

Sabonis is accepted as one of the best passing centers ever to play the game of basketball, but this view is not entirely precise. He wasn’t only the best passing center, but he was the best center around during those times. You could not take his exceptional court vision away, but many forget what a force he was under the baskets. That is mainly because he made the transition to the NBA very late in his career – injuries had taken away the speed and the quickness that Sabonis had in his younger years.

The player’s career across the Pond was still a major success, but lacked the finishing touches as the Portland Trail Blazers couldn’t actually win anything despite coming mighty close. And that might have been a totally different story as many think that Sabonis could have been a brighter star than David Robinson himself if the tall Lithuanian had had a chance to come to NBA earlier and wasn’t bothered by all those injuries he had prior to making the extra step towards playing in US.