101 Greats of European Basketball

his team’s loss (95-81), but he made it clear that Spain
was in for a real treat with a new superstar. In the following
three seasons, he would play 37, 37 and 36 games,
averaging 23.6 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists,
taking Valladolid to the playoffs for three straight years
and in 1992-93 to the Korac Cup semifinals, where the
team lost to a strong Il Messaggero Roma team, with
Dino Radja, Roberto Premier and Rick Mahorn.
EuroLeague crown with Madrid
In the summer of 1992, after three brilliant seasons
in Valladolid, two important things happened in
the life of Sabas. First, he signed with Real Madrid for
three seasons. Second, he won the bronze medal with
Lithuania, already an independent country, at the 1992
Olympics in Barcelona. Sabonis’s averages in Barcelona
were 23.9 points, 13 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He
was 28 years old and in his prime.
With his arrival at Real Madrid, Sabonis’s main goal
was winning the European crown. But before doing that
in 1995, he suffered another disappointment. At the
1993 Final Four in Athens, Real Madrid lost, unexpectedly,
against Limoges – the eventual surprise champ – by 62-52
in the semis. The arrival of Zeljko Obradovic to the bench
of Real Madrid would be the start of a great collaboration
between a player and a coach that evolved into a great
friendship between two men who have given a lot to basketball.
On April 13, 1995, in Zaragoza, Spain, the basketball
giant Arvydas Sabonis fulfilled his dream: winning the
EuroLeague crown and also being named MVP of the Final
Four in the process. In the semis, Real Madrid got revenge
against Limoges with a 62-42 victory, while in the title
game, the Spanish team defeated Olympiacos Piraeus.
The Lithuanian Tsar had 23 points and 7 rebounds.
At 31 years old, Sabonis was leaving the Spanish
League after 235 games and averages of 20.3 points,
12.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 33 minutes on court,
to take the next important step in his career: signing
for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA. The club also
fulfilled its dream of bringing Sabas to the USA almost
a decade after having chosen him in the 1986 draft with
pick number 24.
At 31, when some players retire, Sabonis showed
the world that he still knew how to do a lot of things.
Never did such a veteran rookie attract as much media
attention as he did, but Sabas justified it all. He won
Player of the Week awards, was part of the all-rookie
team, was Best Sixth Man, and was Rookie of the Year
runner-up. In seven NBA seasons averaging more than
24 minutes per game, he averaged 12 points (32% on
threes) and 7.3 rebounds.
After fulfilling all of his dreams, at 39 years old, Sabonis
decided to have his biggest wish granted: dressing
again in the jersey of his Zalgiris. He literally played for
his own team, since he had just bought most of the
stock in the club. He signed for the club of his heart
and immediately became a EuroLeague star again: in
the 2003-04 season, he was named MVP of the regular
season and the Top 16, playing 28 minutes per game
with 16.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 26.3 index rating
averages. At 40 years old.
In Lithuania, he remains a national idol. He has been
president of the Lithuanian basketball since 2011, the
same year that was chosen for the Naismith Hall of
Fame. One year earlier, he had become a member of
the FIBA Hall of Fame, as well. His three sons play basketball,
with one of them, Donatas, having followed his
father into the EuroLeague and the NBA. But they have
a great handicap: the Sabonis name is a great burden in
the basketball world.
101 greats of european basketball
Arvydas Sabonis
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