101 Greats of European Basketball

could only come with huge talent. The tournament
MVP? Of course, it was Jasikevicius.
One year later at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, I saw
the victory of Lithuania over the United States, 94-90,
one of the best in his career. In 32 minutes, he scored 32
points with 7 of 12 threes and 4 assists. It was his particular
revenge for the semifinal defeat in 2000 Sydney
Olympics (83-85), in which the Lithuanians missed the
last shot. The bronze medal was a good consolation.
It’s not easy to count all the titles he has won. If I am
not mistaken, he was a champ nine times in five different
national leagues: Greece (3), Spain (2), Israel (2),
Turkey (1) and Lithuania (1). He won 10 national cups in
five countries: Olimpija (1), Barcelona (3), Panathinaikos
(3), Maccabi (2) and Fenerbahce (1). His individual accolades
ask for a lot of space. One of the biggest accolades
off the court has been the naming of one of the
meeting rooms at Euroleague Basketball headquarters
in Barcelona after him. This is how the stars that leave
their mark in the competition should be respected.
In 2015, Jasikevicius was honored as a Euroleague
Basketball Legend before the Top 16 game between
Zalgiris Kaunas and Real Madrid. Before a long, standing
ovation from his hometown fans, a video was shown at
Zalgirio Arena in which some of his best moments appeared,
along with statements from former teammates
like Juan Carlos Navarro, or his coach in Panathinaikos,
Zeljko Obradovic.
I am happy to see him on the Zalgiris bench now. It
was the club of his dreams, in his native city. With basketball
in his blood, it was only a matter of time before
we saw him become a head coach, too.
If somebody must teach how basketball is played,
then it is Mr. Basketball, Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Sarunas Jasikevicius
101 greats of european basketball
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