A brilliant talent and one of the first great European players in the NBA
When the USSR had its great basketball teams, starring among others Arvydas Sabonis, most Americans didn’t realize that actually the core of the team was Lithuanian. And one of the best players in that era was Sarunas Marciulionis.
Marciulionis was a 6-5 guard who played for the USSR until it collapsed and then helped start the brilliant Lithuanian national program.
Things were so stark at the beginning that the Grateful Dead, who followed him when he was with the Golden State Warriors, helped to fund the nascent hoops power, including their famous tie-die uniforms.
Marciulionis was a successful NBA player too, one of the first great European imports. He was a long and athletic 6-5 with a tremendous basketball IQ. Marciulionis really paved the way for international players like Toni Kukoc, Manu Ginobili and, more recently, Luka Doncic.
After his career ended, Marciulionis went home to help Lithuania continue to build one of the absolute best national teams in the world. He’s had an immense impact on the game. Accordingly, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014 then the FIBA Hall of Fame the following year.
