Tribute To The Best Center From Europe Ever - Arvydas Sabonis

Arvydas Romas Sabonis (born December 19, 1964 in Kaunas, Lithuania is a retired Lithuanianprofessionalbasketball player. The 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in) Sabonis is considered by many to be one of the premier centers in the world from the 1980s through the early 21st century.

Sabonis' earliest international success was a bronze for the Soviet Union at the European Championship of 1983, followed by a gold in 1985 at both the European Championship and the World University Games. In 1981, Sabonis joined Žalgiris Kaunas and led them to three consecutive Soviet league titles.

In the 1985 NBA Draft he was a fourth round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks but this was later nullified because of his age (he was under 21). In the 1986 NBA Draft he was the Portland Trail Blazers' first pick (24th overall), but again he couldn't play for them due to the political circumstances at the time. Although the political climate in the Soviet Union did not allow Sabonis to play in the NBA, he did travel to the U.S. to rehabilitate his ankle injuries with the Blazers' training staff. In between rehab stints, "Sabas" would find himself out on the court playing pickup games with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and others. Observers strongly contend even to this day, that had Sabonis played for the Blazers in the early 1990s, they would likely have won a NBA championship.[citation needed]

He won the gold medal for the USSR in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and played for Lithuania when they won bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and were runners-up in the 1995 European Championships.

In 1989 he was allowed to leave the Soviet Union but he didn't go to the NBA and instead chose Forum Valladolid, and Real Madrid in 1992, whom he led to league championships in 1993 and 1994 and to the European Club Championship in 1995. He was named European Player of the Year four times while playing in Europe.

In 1995, he finally joined the NBA with the Trail Blazers, and won Rookie of the Month and Player of the Week awards in 1996. He was later runner-up for both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man awards. He remained with Portland for seven years, playing in 470 regular season and 51 playoff matches with them and often leading the team in rebounds. He was a very effective player in the NBA, and was named European Player of the Year twice while in Portland, but his career there had considerable "what-might-have-been" overtones. Had he joined the Blazers when they were at their peak in the early 1990s, many Portland fans feel it would have been a dynasty. During his years in Europe, he suffered a series of knee and Achilles' tendon injuries that robbed him of most of his mobility.

http://www.nba.com/blazers/special_features/Portland_will_miss_Arvydas_Sab-84264-41.html Heres another article