Portland Trail Blazers: Arvydas Sabonis went in Hall of Fame 10 years ago

In the 1986 Draft, the Portland Tail Blazers owned two picks in the Draft that year.

The 86 Draft featured players like, North Carolina center Brad Daugherty who went number one overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Auburn forward Chuck Person fourth to the Indiana Pacers and Virginia Tech shooting guard Dell Curry, yes that Dell Curry, 15th to the Utah Jazz.

The Blazers picks were 14, which was used on St. John’s power forward Walter Berry, who would only appear in seven games for them, and a center out of Lithuania named Arvydas Sabonis, at 24, the last pick of the first round that year.

What many fans may not know, Sabonis was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks the previous year, but the selection was voided by the NBA, as Sabonis was ineligible, as he was not 21 at the time.

Sabonis would play for professional teams in Europe (Lithuania and Spain mainly)before joining the Blazers. While with those teams, he earned “Mr. Europa”, player of the year twice, Spanish All-Star game MVP twice, fifty FIBA’s Greatest Players, Spanish League MVP twice, Spanish League Finals MVP twice, as well as other honors, awards, and championships.

While with the Blazers getting towards the end of his playing career, he was hobbled by injuries but helped Portland get to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000. Fans likely remember Sabonis’ no-look passes to his teammates, and many fans might, unfortunately, remember the “towel” incident on April 19, 2001, during a loss to the Lakers when Rasheed Wallace threw a towel into the face of Sabonis.

He would briefly retire from the NBA after the 2001-2002 season but would return to play in 78 games for Portland the season after. Sabonis averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in 470 games for the Blazers themselves.

Ten years ago, in April of 2011, Sabonis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and inducted that August. Portland honored Sabonis being inducted before thousands of fans gathered at a celebration for him at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

“I’m very surprised,” he told the crowd. “I don’t know what to say. I appreciate you remember me.”

Arvydas Sabonis was a key piece of Portland Trail Blazers history. One can’t help but wonder if, Portland would have won a few of the championships the Chicago Bulls won in the ’90s if, Sabonis immediately played for the Blazers when drafted. Zalgiris Kaunas, who he played for from 1981-1989, 1992, 2001-2002 retired his number 11. Perhaps it’s time for the Blazers to do the same?