Sabonis is widely regarded as, if not one of the best centers in the history of basketball, then the center with the greatest array of skills that ever played. Arvydas Romas Sabonis was born in Kaunas, Lithuania on December 19, 1964. He won a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics in South Korea where he had to play on the Soviet team since Lithuania had not yet regained its independence. However, in 1992 and 1996, he played in the Olympics on his native Lithuanian team and won two bronze medals.
Sabonis was named European Player of the Year eight times. He played in many different leagues, including seven seasons in the NBA where he performed with distinction despite numerous serious injuries earlier in his career. On August 20, 2010, Sabonis was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding performance in international competition. Sabonis was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2011. on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.