Basketball player Arvydas Sabonis: biography, achievements and interesting facts

Arvydas Sabonis is a Lithuanian basketball player, who played a major part of his career in the highest league of the USSR and European clubs. The player has the trophies of European and world championships, as well as Olympic gold awards.

early years

As a child, little Arvydas liked to hang around for hours. Parents tried in every possible way to interest the child, writing it in the beginning to a music school, and then giving it to the basketball section. Initially, the idea did not bring the expected results. However, after several months of playing basketball Arvydas Sabonis, the growth, whose weight was much higher than those of his peers, he realized his advantages and later the game began to bring him pleasure. Thus, the boy firmly decided what he intended to devote all his free time.

Seriously engaged in basketball Arvydas Sabonis, whose growth is 213 cm, began at the age of 9. His first sports school was the Kaunas Academy, where the guy trained under the guidance of a mentor Yuri Fedorov. In 1981, when Sabonis turned 17, he began to receive proposals from professional clubs. In the same season, the player became the European champion in the basketball junior national team of the Soviet Union.

For which team did Arvydas Sabonis play? The first club of young talent was the Lithuanian "Zalgiris". Already in the opening match against "Kalev" the recruit of the team managed to put 14 points into his asset. Later, Arvydas Sabonis helped "Zalgiris" achieve three to a number of championship championships in the USSR championship. High performance of the player, who progressed with each match, soon allowed him to get the status of the best young player in Europe, according to the authoritative Italian edition La Gazzetta dello Sport.

In the season 1980/1981 Arvydas Sabonis first went to the location of the adult basketball team. At the 1982 World Cup, the head coach of the national team of the USSR practically did not use Arvydas in fights due to lack of experience. However, the high point of the player came in 1988, when Sabonis fully flashed talents at the Olympics, which took place in Seoul.

Career in Europe

In 1985, Arvydas Sabonis received permission to leave the USSR. However, despite such a momentous event, the player decided to postpone the move to the United States. The choice of a basketball player fell on the Spanish championship, where he successfully spent as many as 6 seasons.

The first European command Arvydas was "Valladolid". Later, Sabonis defended the colors of the basketball club "Real Madrid", in which he won the championship twice.

In the Spanish league, the average player gained 22.8 points for the fight, performed 13.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 block shots.

Performances for the national team of Lithuania

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Arvydas Sabonis was involved in the games for the national team of Lithuania at the summer Olympics in Barcelona, which took place in 1992. In the group stage Arvydas's team lost to the combined national team of the former Soviet Union. Later, in the semifinals, the Lithuanian national team was demoralized by opponents from the United States with a score of 76-127. Despite the unsuccessful speech at the international forum, Arvydas Sabonis was repeatedly involved in games for the national team, where he played the role of one of the leaders.

Period in the NBA

Arvydas twice received invitations from the clubs of the National Basketball Association. However, before the collapse of the USSR, the player could not even dream of such options for the further development of a professional career.

The Lithuanian giant moved to the States only in 1995, signing a contract with the "Potland Blazers." Once in the NBA, Sabonis became the oldest legionnaire in the history of the tournament. At that time, the player was 31 years old. However, this did not prevent him gain a foothold in the team in the status of one of the leaders already in the first season. Virtually no opponent could not hold back Arvydas, whose growth was 2 meters and 21 centimeters. The player became the first representative of his role, which with astonishing accuracy was thrown from behind the three-point arc.

For seven consecutive years, the high performance of Arvidas allowed the "Blazers" to reach the stage of the playoffs. The best for Sabonis was the season 1999/2000, when the team from Oregon, making it to the final part of the tournament, lost to the Los Angeles Lakers only on the basis of seven games of the series.

In the 2000/2001 season, the basketball player decided to leave the Blazers. Arvydas returned to his native Zalgiris. High industriousness of the player, refusal of rest and recovery after injuries allowed the club for several years to firmly gain a foothold in the ranking of the top 16 teams of the Euroleague. Officially, Sabonis completed his career in 2005, having subsequently become the president of the Lithuanian team.

Player stats in NBA

Arvydas Sabonis, whose team has successfully performed in the NBA for seven seasons in a row, has consolidated the following indicators:

• Participation in games - 470;
• The amount of points gained - 5629 (an average of 12 points per match);
• Effective transfers - 964 (21.1 per game);
• Rebounds - 3436 (7.3 per duel);
• Block shots - 494 (an average of 1.1 per match);
• Interceptions - 370 (0.8 per game).

Personal life

What is Arvydas Sabonis's marital status? The basketball player's wife, Ingrida, is a famous Lithuanian model who became Miss Vilnius in 1988 and first vice-miss in 1989. A married couple has a daughter and three sons.

The eldest son of the legendary basketball player Tautvydas was in favor of the youth squad of the Spanish "Malaga". The young man was repeatedly involved in the game for the national team of Lithuania. In 2011, the 19-year-old player, together with his partners, won the gold medals of the World Youth Championship. Other sons of Sabonis also represented the Lithuanian basketball team in tournaments among younger age groups in the same season.

Interesting Facts

As a child Arvydas' parents decided to find a hobby for him, sending him to practice music in an accordion. However, in most cases, the boy did not reach the school. Therefore, parents often found him on the nearest swamp, where he and his peers caught frogs.

Thanks to performances in the NBA for the national team and European teams Arvydas Sabonis is fluent in English, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish and Spanish.

The main hobby of the player, in addition to basketball, is fishing. Sabonis does not miss a single opportunity to go to the pool in his spare time.

In 2011, during a basketball game in the Lithuanian league, Arvydas suffered a heart attack right on the site. Despite all the concerns, the doctors confirmed that the aggravation did not carry a serious threat to the life of the athlete.

In 1997, a documentary film "Sabas" was released, the creator of which was the famous Lithuanian director Vytautas Landsbergis. In the picture it was a question of career development, facts from Sabonis' personal life and his achievements.

Another filmmaker - Rimvydas Cekavičius decided to sum up the sporting achievements of Arvydas, releasing a documentary tape titled "Heads Up". The film was presented to the general public in 2014.

Finally

Sabonis is recognized as the advanced sportsman of Lithuania of the XX century. In addition, he was repeatedly awarded the title of the most effective player in Europe. To this day, Sabonis is on the list of the best centers in the history of the NBA.