Basketball Legend Arvydas Sabonis and His Career

Arvydas Sabonis is considered one of the best players in European basketball history. It is widely though that if he had come to the United States during his prime, he would be regarded as one of the best centers in NBA history. NBA players and coaches alike have raved about the way Sabonis played the game.

Sabonis was born on December 19, 1964 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He grew up learning and playing the game of basketball. By the time he was done growing, Sabonis had turned into a lean 7 foot 3 inch 290 pound center. He dominated the middle in any game he participated in.

Sabonis started his professional basketball career in 1981 for Zalgiris Kaunas in the Soviet league. It was here that he won three league championships. His first major accomplishment on the international scene for basketball was in 1983. This is when his name started to get out, though somewhat quietly, to the basketball world. It was during 1983 that he played for the national team for the Soviet Union and competed in the European Championship games. Not soon after, in 1985, Sabonis won the gold at the European Championships.

Following all of his international success, Sabonis was drafted to the NBA in 1985 by the Atlanta Hawks. Though he was picked, he was prevented from playing due to being too young; 21 years of age. He was once again drafted the next year, in 1986 by the Portland Trail Blazers. Once again, Sabonis would not see the lights of the NBA because of strong political tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

In 1988 Sabonis participated in the Olympic Games for the Soviet Union and won a gold medal. The world realized just how talented Sabonis was during these games.

Finally, in 1989 the U.S.S.R. cleared Sabonis for travel to the United States to play in the NBA. Instead of doing this, however, Sabonis chose to stay put in Europe and went on to win four European Player of the Year awards.

In 1995, Sabonis decided to make the jump to the NBA. He had played his prime years in Europe and it seemed that he would end his career in the NBA. He signed with the Trail Blazers, who had drafted him several years earlier, and went on to have a superb rookie season. He was named runner up for the Rookie of the Year award and also for the league's Sixth Man Award. Sabonis had seven strong years in Portland where he contributed greatly to the team's success.

The one idea or question that is always associated with Sabonis' career in the NBA is if the timing had been better for his arrival, how good would he have been? Many believe that he would have been a top center not just during his career, but of all time. He had suffered multiple injuries before his trek to the NBA which had influenced the way he played and slowed him down quite a bit as compared to his years in Europe. Many think that if he had arrived in Portland when he was originally drafted in 1986 that the Trail Blazers would have won multiple titles.

Though there are questions as to how good Sabonis would have been if he had come earlier to the U.S., there is no debating that he was a great player when he finally did come in 1995. During his seven years in the NBA, Sabonis averaged 12.1 points per game to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists. During his best year in the league, 1997-1998, he averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

Hall of Famer Bill Walton has referred to Sabonis by saying, "Arvydas Sabonis is the epitome of competitive greatness." The accomplishments of Arvydas Sabonis should never be forgotten.