Kriti Mehrotra
While Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis is undeniably one of the best athletes still active in the NBA, the truth is his innate passion for the sport is something he inherited from his father. After all, he is the son of the 7’2″ former Portland Trail Blazers’ center Arvydas Romas Sabonis, whose talent, skills, longevity, and gameplay once made him arguably the most desired in the league. Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ actually briefly mentions this, yet it doesn’t really delve into the full extent of the latter’s standing as an international player, businessman, as well as an Olympian too.
Arvydas Sabonis Fell in Love With Basketball at an Early Age
Arvydas Romas Sabonis was born on December 19, 1964, in the Kaunas area of the Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union, from where he gradually changed the trajectory of his entire family. It was by chance that he developed a passion for basketball at age 13, but his ensuing efforts to hone his skills were deliberate and he did so to such an extent he was in the national team by 15. Therefore, with his representation of the nation as well as his overall standing, he was excused from mandatory military service in exchange for enrolling at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture in Kaunas.
In the ensuing years, Arvydas managed to make such a name for himself that he was being brought up alongside legends, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to select him in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft. However, they couldn’t immediately get him owing to his prior commitments to professional clubs Žalgiris and the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea for the Soviet Union. He then joined the Spanish Liga ACB club, Fórum Valladolid, won a bronze at the 1992 Olympics for his homeland, transferred to fellow Spanish club Real Madrid, and represented Lithuania in the 1996 Olympics.
Arvydas Sabonis’ NBA Career Was One for the Books
Despite having been selected by the Portland Trail Blazers as their 24th overall pick of the 1986 NBA draft following a voided draft by the Atlanta Hawks a year prior owing to age issues, he didn’t make his NBA debut until 1994-1995. At the unprecedented age of 30 in his rookie year, he then broke all bounds by playing so well that he was selected to the All-Rookie First Team and was runner-up in both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year through voting. He did subsequently have a few ups and downs owing to injury and having to be away from family, but his passion for the game never wavered.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Arvydas gradually became not just a critic but also a fan favorite, which is why his decision that the 2002-2003 season would be his last in the NBA hurt several fans. He played a total of 521 matches – 470 regular games plus 51 playoffs – with his rebound average being 7.3, assists being an average of 2, and average points being 12. He then played another season back in Europe for Žalgiris in the 2003-04 season, only to officially retire from the sport in every way, shape, and form in 2005.
Arvydas Sabonis is Now Leading a Comfortable Life With His Family
Owing to everything Arvydas Sabonis has done for the sport of basketball and his achievements in the same, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. That same year, he was also appointed President of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, a position he has consistently served since then, barring a brief period in the summer of 2013.
As for his personal standing, it appears as if Arvydas is currently leading his best life as a basketball executive and a basketball fan, especially thanks to his son Domantas, who is now in the NBA. Individually, though, he has been living in the coastal city of Málaga, Spain, since his retirement, where he is surrounded by his wife, Lithuanian fashion model, movie actress, and former pageant queen Ingrida Mikelionytė, and their brood. They have a daughter named Aušrinė and three sons, Žygimantas, Tautvydas, and Domantas, all of whom now seem to have families of their own, too, with the matriarch and patriarch doing their best to support them.
