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Arvydas Sabonis was probably one of the best basketball players ever, and although Sabas was an old man when he played in Portland, he did enough with his time in a Blazer uniform to warrant the type of reception he received at Pioneer Square. The cheering fans seemed to come as a shock to the big Lithuanian who more than once thanked the city for the simple act of remembering who he was. But it should come as no surprise to Blazer fans that we’d remember a hands-down fan favorite, who anchored Portland during one of their best stretches as a franchise. Rip City Project

Portland Trail Blazers, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

A Sports Illustrated article said Sabonis is in line to be the next president of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, with the current president’s term ending in October. “There will be an election,” Sabonis told me with a shrug. “I’m putting off (thinking about it) for now. I have many other things to do. If they elect me, I will try and see what happens.” Portland Tribune

Portland Trail Blazers, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

Sabonis suffered the big-man's curse. It is the irony of the game that often some of the bodies built for basketball are ultimately too delicate to handle how the sport pounds the feet, ankles, and knees. The bigger the body, the greater the chance that a tiny abnormality can halt a brilliant career and crumble it like a misplaced Jenga block. Bill Walton and Yao Ming are among those whose sparkling careers were derailed by debilitating injuries. But at least the NBA's audience witnessed them, appreciated the development of greatness even if the peak was abbreviated. With Sabonis, we are left only with a dabble of YouTube clips filmed long before YouTube was created. "I am no longer a locomotive, only a small trolley," Sabonis once told the Oregonian after he arrived in Portland. Before him now, I wondered if Sabonis' legend would be greater in the United States if he had never arrived at all. Grantland

Portland Trail Blazers, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

If Sabonis arrived in Portland unscathed, he could have had a Michael Jordan-like impact upon the game, Whitsitt said. He hedged on the comparison by saying that the point is definitely arguable. But the statement was made because Whitsitt believes in its possibility. He is not alone. Walton first saw Sabonis as a 19-year-old in the European championships. "He probably had a quadruple-double at halftime, and his coach, Alexander Gomelsky, didn't even start him in the second half," Walton said in a telephone call. "We looked at each other, our jaws just dropping, and I said, 'You might as well just rewrite the rules of basketball after watching him play for just the first half,' the first time I ever saw him. When you think of the history of basketball, the rules were changed to make it harder for three guys: Russell, Wilt, and Kareem. All the other rules have been changed to make it easier. "He could do everything. He had the skills of Larry Bird and Pete Maravich. He had the athleticism of Kareem, and he could shoot the 3-point shot. He could pass and run the floor, dribble. We should have carried out a plan in the early 1980s to kidnap him and bring him back right then." Grantland

Portland Trail Blazers, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

The legend of Sabonis grew after the game. The United States would play Croatia in the gold-medal game eight hours later, allowing for a time gap between the bronze game and the award ceremony. Sabonis and his teammates ventured back to the Olympic dormitory, where Sabonis challenged fellow Olympians in arm wrestling for shots. One by one, wrestlers and shot putters among them, Sabonis beat them. By the time of the award ceremony, three Lithuanians did not make it to the podium. Sabonis was one of them. "I knew how they used to roll," said Chris Mullin, part of the United States' Dream Team. "I think they came out with their tie-dye on. They did what the Deadheads do. They got loosened up. Made use of their free time." Sabonis was located a couple of days later in one of the women's Olympic dormitories. Grantland

Portland Trail Blazers, Chris Mullin, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

In Portland, Sabonis was professional and practiced, went home, played in games, and repeated the routine. Instead of developing relationships with teammates, he would most often hang out with the support staff. "Many times I would say, 'Arvydas, how does your foot feel?' And he would say, 'It's the same. It hurts. It's always the same,'" Jensen said. "What changed from day to day was how much it hurt. It always bothered him. It was just every day, it may be a little bit different. You would look at his X-rays and you would say, 'How in the world is he running up and down the floor?'" Grantland

Portland Trail Blazers, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

In the following season, Wallace threw the towel at Sabonis during a timeout of a game against the Lakers. Sabonis had accidentally smacked Wallace's face earlier when he collided in the post with O'Neal. "Under normal circumstances, he'd have probably knocked his head into next year," Doucette said. "I don't think you want to challenge Arvydas. But he kept his cool because he knew that if he didn't, that team would come apart right there. He did a marvelous job of remaining composed." Walton, who was broadcasting the game nationally, still feels remorse over the incident. "It was one of the lowest moments of my life," he said. "If I was any kind of a man, I would have got up from that broadcast table and walked across the court and punched Rasheed Wallace in the nose. But I let Sabonis and the game of basketball and the human race down that day." Grantland

Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Rasheed Wallace, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

I asked the question that Sabonis has no doubt answered a hundred times. How would he have fared if he were never hurt or if he had entered the NBA at an earlier age? Would he have been the edge Portland needed in winning championships in 1990 and 1992 instead of just making finals appearances? "Look, what happened, it happened," he said. "I don't know. I know what's real in my life happened. What else? Who knows? If I came in '86 or '92, if I come we would be talking about other questions. But I came in '95, so we're talking about '95." Grantland

Portland Trail Blazers, Bill Walton, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

Jonathan Abrams: Arvydas Sabonis' acceptance speech clocks in at a thrifty 49 seconds Twitter

Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

“I’m satisfied with my career,” says Sabonis, 46, who lives in Lithuania, runs a youth basketball school and is part owner of the Zalgiris club, for whom he began his pro career in 1981. “Maybe one regret – that nobody stopped me when I first got injured and explained to me to watch for the symptoms.” Portland Tribune

Portland Trail Blazers, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

Bucky Buckwalter was the Blazers’ director of player personnel and the man most responsible for selecting Sabonis with the 24th and final pick of the first round in the 1986 NBA draft. “I have a half-hour tape, a composition of highlights of Arvydas playing from the ages of 18 to 20,” says Buckwalter, retired and still living in Portland. “He was doing some amazing things. Passing from the high post. Elevating over people. He was a very gifted big man, more skilled than maybe any big man other than (Bill) Walton in passing. “In Europe, he was playing against not terribly competitive opposition. Had he been able to play against better competition, he’d have developed more and become one of the all- time greats. As it was, he still was pretty damn good.” Portland Tribune

Portland Trail Blazers, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

The Portland Trail Blazers will honor former Portland center and basketball legend Arvydas Sabonis on Thursday, August 18, following his 2011 induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sabonis, who played for the Trail Blazers for seven seasons (1995-2001, 2002-03), is known globally as one of the greatest centers to ever play the game. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., Aug. 11-13, before returning to the Rose City. NBA.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Arvydas Sabonis 

Q: People compare you with Shaquille O'Neal. What do you think of the comparisons between you and Shaq? A: Shaq is one of the greatest players of all-time. To be honest, I was not able to overplay him during his peak. I was actually lucky as when I met him in the NBA, his career was on the downside. That's why it seemed I got close to his level in some games. I have heard that there are only two players in NBA history who could play at a similar level as him at center - Arvydas Sabonis and Wilt Chamberlain. China Daily

Houston Rockets, Yao Ming, Shaquille O'Neal, Arvydas Sabonis, Wilt Chamberlain 

Jason Quick: Sabonis is living in Spain but plans to attend the induction in Springfield, Mass. Twitter

Spain, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis 

Former Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis never liked to think about how great he could have been had injuries not ravaged his body. "I would talk to him on the taping table about the past and his foot, and he would get extremely angry. He didn't like talking about it," Blazers athletic trainer Jay Jensen said. "He knew he could have been so much better, and he was irritated about that." Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Arvydas Sabonis 

When Blazers team doctor Don Roberts looked at Sabonis' medical files prior to his arrival, he was shocked. He called team general manager Bob Whitsitt as he looked at X-rays of Sabonis' foot. "The X-ray alone would get you a handicap parking permit," Roberts said. "His foot was so bad it just didn't look like he would be able to run, to say nothing about basketball. So I called Whitsitt and said 'I don't think he can play.' Bob said, 'Oh, he can play." Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Arvydas Sabonis 

Coaches Tex Winter, innovator of the "Triangle" offense, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and Philadelphia University's Herb Magee are part of the class announced Monday at the Final Four in Houston. Longtime NBA and ABA star Artis Gilmore, former Portland TrailBlazers center Arvydas Sabonis and Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards also will be inducted. They are joined by Harlem Globetrotter Reece "Goose" Tatum and Boston Celtic Tom "Satch" Sanders. ESPN.com

Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis, Tex Winter, Artis Gilmore 

The late Maurice Lucas is among the nominees for the 2011 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Lucas, who died Oct. 31 after a long battle with bladder cancer, is one of 21 players, coaches and officials nominated by the Hall's North American committee. Lucas played 14 years in the ABA and NBA and was a key figure in the Blazers' 1977 NBA championship team. He averaged 20.2 points and 11.4 rebounds on the title team and 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds during his career. He also served as an assistant coach for the Blazers. Also nominated this year are former Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks, a star player for the Philadelphia 76ers, and former Blazers player Arvydas Sabonis, who was nominated by the international committee. Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Hall of Fame, Arvydas Sabonis, Maurice Lucas 

Sean Meagher: Per Barrett on the tube: Brandon Roy passed Arvydas Sabonis on the #Blazers all-time scoring list tonight. Twitter

Portland Trail Blazers, Brandon Roy, Arvydas Sabonis 

Legendary Lithuanian basketball player Arvydas Sabonis has agreed to be an ambassador for the EuroBasket 2011, which will take place in Lithuania from August 3-18. Sabonis believes that EuroBasket will be a great advertisement for Lithuania and he wants to help his country as much as he can. hoopsleader.com

Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuania