101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
long-range shot. Both changed basketball, were icons
of their respective eras, and led their club teams and
national teams to the top.
After missing the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles due
to the USSR boycott, Sabas was back on the big stage
at the 1985 EuroBasket in Stuttgart, where the USSR’s
domination was overwhelming and he was chosen MVP.
In the final, Czechoslovakia fell 120-89 with 23 points
and 15 rebounds from Sabonis. His scoring average
was 20 points. The all-tournament team included Valdis
Valters (USSR), Drazen Petrovic (Yugoslavia), Detlef
Schrempf (West Germany), Fernando Martin (Spain)
and Arvydas Sabonis (USSR). Some starting five! That
same year, on March 19, his club team, Zalgiris Kaunas,
reached its first European final. It was the Saporta Cup
against FC Barcelona in Grenoble and Zalgiris lost 77-73
despite Rimas Kurtinaitis’s 36 points. Sabonis had one
of his usual double-doubles, 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The following year, Zalgiris, as the USSR domestic
champion, represented the country in the EuroLeague
and reached the title game, where it had to square off
against Cibona Zagreb, the defending champ that had
beaten Real Madrid the previous year in Athens. The
game was played in Budapest on April 3 and didn’t end
well for Sabas. His team lost 94-82 after referees Costas
Rigas of Greece and Vittorio Fiorito of Italy disqualified
Sabonis, who until that point had 27 points and 14 rebounds.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Sabonis
punched Mihovil Nakic in the face as his answer to a
provocation. Sabonis’s European dream at the club level
would have to wait.
Olympic gold
In the middle of the 1980s, Sabonis started to suffer
injuries, which would become his biggest enemies
throughout his career. Ankles, knees and especially his
tendons started to suffer the consequences of such an
effort made by such a big man. After missing almost all
of 1987, he was back for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul,
South Korea. His start was not that promising, however,
as the USSR lost in the first game against Yugoslavia,
92-79. But after beating the USA in the semis 82-74 with
his 13 points and 11 boards, the Soviets prevailed in
the final against Yugoslavia 83-76 thanks to 20 points
and 15 rebounds from Sabonis. His dream was fulfilled.
Also, after several political changes during the Perestroika
era of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, the
doors were opened for the best players of the country
to show their talent in other places.
At the 1989 EuroBasket in Zagreb, Sabonis and
his Lithuanian teammates (Marciulionis, Chomicius
and Kurtinaitis) would win the last medal (bronze) for
a multi-nation USSR with Ukrainians Alexander Volkov
and Belosteny, Latvian Gundars Vetra, Estonian Tiit
Sokk, and Russians Tikhonenko and Valery Goborov.
At the 1990 World Cup in Buenos Aires, the Lithuanian
players would already not be around, as their dream of
playing for Lithuania was coming soon.
As a kind of prize for the 1988 Olympic gold, the
best USSR players obtained legal permits to leave the
country. Sabonis went to Spain to play with Forum Valladolid.
The surprise was big: one of the best players in
the world was signing for a humble team in Spain. The
reason was that the biggest teams in Europe were not
that confident in Sabas’s physical condition.
Sabonis was not in top form when he arrived, because
of the injuries, but a great job done by the medical
services of the club made a sports miracle easier.
In his debut, a friendly game against Real Madrid, he
scored 27 points and pulled down 10 boards despite
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