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Arvydas Sabonis
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==Professional career== ===Žalgiris=== Sabonis made his professional [[sports club|club]] debut in 1981, with one of the oldest basketball teams in Lithuania, [[BC Žalgiris|Žalgiris]], in his hometown of [[Kaunas]]. With the club, he won three consecutive [[USSR Premier Basketball League|Soviet Premier League]] titles, and the [[1986 FIBA Club World Cup]] (FIBA Intercontinental Cup). ===Valladolid=== In 1989, Sabonis left Žalgiris, and signed with the Spanish [[Liga ACB]] club [[CB Valladolid|Fórum Valladolid]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Blazers Lose Sabonis to Spain Again |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-05-sp-835-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=4 May 2021 |date=4 June 1990}}</ref> During the 1991–92 season, Sabonis helped the team to reach the semifinals at the [[1991–92 FIBA Korać Cup|Korać Cup]]. ===Real Madrid=== In 1992, after playing with Fórum Valladolid for three seasons, Sabonis joined the Spanish club [[Real Madrid Baloncesto|Real Madrid]], and with them, he won two [[Liga ACB|Spanish League]] titles, and a [[EuroLeague|FIBA European League]] (EuroLeague) title, in [[1995 EuroLeague Final Four|1994–95]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Prisiminimai apie A. Sabonio fenomeną ispaną privertė atsiprašyti P. Gasolio|url=http://www.delfi.lt/krepsinis/herojai/prisiminimai-apie-a-sabonio-fenomena-ispana-priverte-atsiprasyti-p-gasolio.d?id=74504396|website=Krepsinis.lt|access-date=28 April 2017}}</ref> With Real Madrid, during the [[1994–95 ACB season|1994–95 Spanish League season]], he averaged 22.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 blocked shots, in 42 games played.<ref>[http://www.acb.com/jugador/temporada-a-temporada/id/20200678/tipo_id/1/competicion_id/1/fase_id/0#cuerpo ARVYDAS SABONISDorsal:Posición: PívotAltura: 2,22 m {{in lang|es}}.]</ref> While in the [[1994–95 FIBA European League|1994–95 FIBA European League season]], he averaged 21.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, in 17 games played.<ref>[http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.compID_,Uz02qBnJiADOq5VntEf53.roundID_2566.season_1995.teamID_1020.playerID_7324.html ARVYDAS SABONIS REAL MADRID TEKA AVERAGE.]</ref> ===Portland Trail Blazers=== Sabonis was originally selected by the [[Atlanta Hawks]] with the 77th overall pick of the [[1985 NBA draft]]. However, the selection was voided because Sabonis was under 21 at the time of the draft. The following spring, he suffered a devastating [[Achilles' tendon]] injury. Nevertheless, he was selected by the [[Portland Trail Blazers]], with the 24th overall pick of the [[1986 NBA draft]].<ref name="NBAbio"/> As of 2024, Sabonis would be the last player to be selected in multiple [[NBA draft]]s, since the process of players entering multiple draft years would be abolished after the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Robert D.|title=The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810890695}}, pg. 454</ref> Sabonis was not allowed to play in the US by the Soviet authorities, despite [[LSU Tigers basketball|LSU Tigers]] head coach [[Dale Brown (basketball)|Dale Brown]]'s plans to have Sabonis studying and playing at [[Louisiana State University]], thus keeping him in an [[amateur sports|amateur]] status. However, he did go to [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], to rehabilitate his injury with the Blazers medical staff, in 1988, while also practicing with the team.<ref name=si>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/longform/sabonis/|title=The Old College Try: The complicated recruiting sagas of Arvydas Sabonis and his son Domantas|website=Sports Illustrated Longform}}</ref> After the 1994–95 European season, Sabonis and Portland contacted one another about a move to the [[NBA]]. Before signing Sabonis, Portland's then-general manager, [[Bob Whitsitt]], asked the Blazers team physician to look at Sabonis' X-rays. Illustrating the impact of Sabonis' numerous injuries, Whitsitt recalled in a 2011 interview, that when the doctor reported the results, "He said that Arvydas could qualify for a [[Disabled parking permit|handicapped parking spot]], based on the X-ray alone."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6867508/arvydas-sabonis-long-strange-trip |title=Arvydas Sabonis' Long, Strange Trip |first=Jonathan |last=Abrams |work=[[Grantland|Grantland,com]] |date=16 August 2011 |access-date=28 November 2011}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Blazers signed Sabonis. He had a successful rookie campaign, averaging 14.5 points, on 55% shooting, and 8.1 rebounds per game while playing less than 24 minutes per game.<ref name="NBAbio"/> Sabonis was selected to the [[NBA All-Rookie Team|All-Rookie First Team]] and was runner-up in both [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]] and [[NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award|Sixth Man of the Year]] voting.<ref name="NBAbio"/> His postseason averages went up to 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.<ref name="NBAbio"/> In the first playoff series of his NBA career, Portland lost to Utah in five games. Sabonis averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 1997–98, all career-highs. During Sabonis's first stint in Portland, the Blazers always made the playoffs (part of a 21-year streak); between 1998 and 1999, the Oregon franchise changed large parts of its roster in order to compete for the NBA Championship (after six consecutive first round losses) with center Sabonis the only player remaining in the starting five. [[Kenny Anderson (basketball)|Kenny Anderson]] and [[Isaiah Rider]] were traded for [[Damon Stoudamire]] and [[Steve Smith (basketball)|Steve Smith]]. In both those years, the Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals. In 1999, they were swept by the eventual champions, the [[San Antonio Spurs]], while, the next year, the team (starting Sabonis, Smith, Stoudamire, [[Rasheed Wallace]], and recently added [[Scottie Pippen]]) lost to the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] (at the beginning of the team's three-peat), in seven games. The question that frequently surrounds Sabonis's NBA career revolves around how good he could have been had he played in the NBA during his prime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?page=Euro-Sabonis|first=Ian|last=Whittell|date=2 May 2008|access-date=27 February 2010|title=Best of the Euroleague and NBA: Arvydas Sabonis|work=ESPN.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Blazers Top 40: No. 20 Arvydas Sabonis|first=Jason|last=Quick|publisher=OregonLive.com|date=27 February 2010|access-date=27 February 2010|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/02/blazers_top_40_no_20_arvydas_s.html}}</ref> Sabonis was already 30 when he joined the Blazers, by which time he had already won multiple gold medals, suffered through numerous injuries, and had lost much of his mobility and athleticism. In [[Bill Simmons]]'s "Book of Basketball", Sabonis the international player is idealized, while Sabonis the Blazer is described as "lumbering up and down the court in what looked to be concrete Nikes" and ranking "just behind [[Artis Gilmore]] on the Moving Like a Mummy Scale."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/11/17/1157838/the-bill-simmons-typo-that|title=The Bill Simmons Typo That Insulted an Entire City|website=blazersedge.com|date=17 November 2009}}</ref> In [[ESPN]]'s David Thorpe's view, Sabonis would be the best passing big man in NBA history, and possibly a top-four center overall, had he played his entire career there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/25422/25422|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220192720/http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/25422/25422|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2010|title=Chat with David Thorpe|website=go.com}}</ref> In [[Clyde Drexler]]'s view, if Sabonis had been able to spend his prime in Portland, next to the plethora of other Trail Blazers' All-Stars (Drexler, [[Terry Porter]], [[Buck Williams]], [[Steve Johnson (basketball)|Steve Johnson]], [[Kevin Duckworth]], and [[Clifford Robinson (basketball, born 1966)|Clifford Robinson]]),<ref>[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/all_star.html Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Game Selections]</ref> the Trail Blazers would "have had four, five or six titles. Guaranteed. He was that good. He could pass, shoot three pointers, had a great post game, and dominated the paint."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/24592|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412052815/http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/24592|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 April 2010|title=Chat with Clyde Drexler|website=go.com}}</ref> Despite his height and weight, he was "a magician in the post who played the game with a style I've never seen from a big man. He was a point guard in a center's body. And, just to be fair to Arvydas, he was better than most point guards are at distributing the ball." His age and injuries made him appear as a "big guy who looked like he couldn't make it up the court, but the same guy who made the defense look foolish with a pass that whizzed by their ear. It just goes to show you how smarts and court savvy will always age better than a guy with no brains and all athletic ability".<ref name="Lyslo">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/blazers/special_features/Portland_will_miss_Arvydas_Sab-84264-41.html|title=Portland Will Miss Arvydas Sabonis|first=Erik|last=Lyslo|website=[[NBA.com]]|access-date=27 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629104800/http://www.nba.com/blazers/special_features/Portland_will_miss_Arvydas_Sab-84264-41.html|archive-date=29 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 6 April 2001, Sabonis scored a season-high 32 points while making 11 of 12 field goal attempts during a 122–91 win over the [[Golden State Warriors]].<ref>[https://www.espn.com/nba/2001/20010406/recap/porgsw.html Kemp distraction aside, Blazers storm Warriors]</ref> After the [[2000–2001 NBA season]], Sabonis refused to sign an extension with the Trail Blazers and retired from the NBA. In his own words, he "was tired mentally and physically." Instead, he returned to Europe, where he signed a one-year deal, at a nominal salary, with [[BC Žalgiris|Žalgiris Kaunas]], expecting to join the team for the most important games of the season down the stretch. However, he ended up missing that season in its entirety, resting and recovering from injuries. Sabonis rejoined the Trail Blazers for one final season, in 2002–2003.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23218439.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105194559/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23218439.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2012|title=BOREDOM BRINGS SABONIS BACK TO BLAZERS|date=1 October 2002|website=highbeam.com}}</ref> He won the [[Euroscar]] twice while playing with the Blazers. He also became a fan favorite,<ref name="Lyslo"/> and had a warm welcome back when he visited Portland in 2011, en route to being enshrined into the [[Naismith Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/blazers/sabonis/_summer_day_with_sabonis_2011_08_18.html|title=A Summer Day With Sabonis|website=nba.com|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009093638/http://www.nba.com/blazers/sabonis/_summer_day_with_sabonis_2011_08_18.html|archive-date=9 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> ===Back to Žalgiris=== Sabonis went back to [[BC Žalgiris|Žalgiris]] to play his final season, in 2003–04. He led the team to the Top 16 stage of the [[2003–04 Euroleague|EuroLeague that year]], and was named the [[EuroLeague Regular Season and Top 16 MVP|Regular Season MVP and the Top 16 MVP]]. He also became the team's president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euroleague.net/history/50-years/the-archive/i/26224/1609/item|title=50 Greatest contributors list: Arvydas Sabonis|access-date=27 February 2010|publisher=euroleague.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127141633/http://www.euroleague.net/history/50-years/the-archive/i/26224/1609/item|archive-date=27 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sabonis would officially retire from playing professional basketball, in 2005.
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