Arvydas Sabonis - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Arvydas Sabonis

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User Rating

(1 users)

Complete

50%

Born
1964 (59 years old)

Birth Place

Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union

Position
Center

Status

Ethnicity
White

Team Number

Height
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)

Weight
292 lb (132 kg)

Outfitter

Kit

Side

Agent

Wage Year

Player Cutout

Full Body Render

Sport

Basketball

Team
_Retired Basketball

2nd Team

League
_No League Basketball

Creative Commons Artwork
No

Description
Available in:

Arvydas Romas Sabonis (born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, he won the Euroscar six times, and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States. Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 and 1996 games representing Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005. Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but did not play his first NBA game until the age of 31 in 1995.

Sabonis is considered one of the best big man passers as well as one of the best overall centers in the history of the game. Bill Walton once called Sabonis a 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) Larry Bird due to his unique court vision, shooting range, rugged in-game mentality, and versatility.

On August 20, 2010, Sabonis was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his great play in international competition. On April 4, 2011, Sabonis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was inducted on August 12, 2011. At that time, he was the tallest player to ever enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; one year later, he would be surpassed by 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson. On October 24, 2011, Sabonis was voted as the next president of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, replacing Vladas Garastas, who had led the LBF since 1991. He resigned from the position on October 2, 2013, but came back on October 10, 2013.

Career Honours

EuroLeague 1995 _Retired Basketball	Liga ACB 1994 _Retired Basketball	Liga ACB 1993 _Retired Basketball	Spanish Copa del Rey de Baloncesto 1993 _Retired Basketball
Olympics Gold 1988 _Retired Basketball	FIBA EuroBasket 1985 _Retired Basketball	FIBA World Cup 1982 _Retired Basketball