It might have been the last look Portland Trail Blazers get of one of their greatest big men in a good long time and as this is written, Arvydas Sabonis is most likely back in his home country of Lithuania.
Last week saw Sabas receive his final honor as an NBA player at his induction into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame; on Thursday, Sabonis made his first appearance in Portland since 2003 to acknowledge his fans there. Some 3,000 attended the festivities, culminating in Portland mayor Sam Adams proclaiming August 18th to be “Arvydas Sabonis Day” in the City of Roses.
Since BallinEurope has given Sabonis quite a bit of press lately and since the Lithuanian legend’s modesty is almost as huge as his meathooks (in Portland, Sabas told the assembled that “I appreciate you remember me”), we’ll go straight to the video clips. Below runs footage of the Sabonis Day event in Portland, followed by an excellent and comprehensive 15-minute run of the man’s career.
Presumably, we’ll be catching glimpses of Sabonis at the Eurobasket 2011 tournament, but this may have been a final “goodbye” to Portland…
