Arvydas Romas Sabonis is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time and one of the best big-man passers in the history of the game, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ACB League, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games representing Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005. Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but he did not play his first NBA game until 1995, at the age of 30.
Basketball Club Žalgiris is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lithuanian Basketball League and internationally as a long-term licensed EuroLeague team. Since the 2011–12 season, Žalgiris has played its home games in Žalgiris Arena in the New Town district of Kaunas.
Futbolo klubas Žalgiris, commonly known as FK Žalgiris, Žalgiris Vilnius or simply Žalgiris, is a Lithuanian professional football club based in Vilnius. The club competes in the A Lyga, the top flight of Lithuanian football. The club was founded as Dinamo in 1947. The club's name commemorates the victorious Battle of Žalgiris. Žalgiris has featured many Lithuanian football legends during its history including Arminas Narbekovas, Valdas Ivanauskas, Edgaras Jankauskas and Deividas Šemberas. They have won the Lithuanian Championship 10 times, the Lithuanian Football Cup 14 times, and the Lithuanian Supercup 7 times.
Šarūnas Jasikevičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing at a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played at the point guard position.
Saulius Štombergas is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be a great team leader, as he managed to play very well under pressure, and at the end of games. He was also known for his 3-point shooting ability.
Valdemaras Chomičius is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player for the Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball team, and an assistant coach for the Lithuanian national team.
Rimas Kurtinaitis is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach who currently serves as the head coach of Sabah BC, and a retired professional basketball player, who was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams during his playing career. He won a gold medal at 1988 Olympics in South Korea. He recently worked as the head coach for Khimki. At a height of 1.96 m (6'5") tall, during his playing career, he played at the shooting guard position. He is the only non-NBA player to ever participate at the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, doing so in 1989, where he scored 9 points.
Darius Lukminas is a Lithuanian former basketball player for the Lithuanian National Basketball team and Žalgiris Kaunas. He was a shooting guard; his weight was listed as 90 kilograms and his height as 195 centimeters.
Paulius Jankūnas is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player who mainly played for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team. Jankūnas played at either center or power forward, with power forward being his main position. He earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2018.
Gintaras "Vytas" Krapikas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and a former international player. He was a member of the Lithuania national basketball team that won a bronze medal in Barcelona's 1992 Summer Olympics. He currently serves as an assistant coach of Žalgiris Kaunas.
Modestas Paulauskas is a former Lithuanian professional basketball coach and basketball player.
Stepas Butautas was a Soviet and Lithuanian professional basketball player and coach. He trained at the VSS Žalgiris, in Kaunas. He played with the Soviet Union men's national basketball team at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games, where he won a silver medal. During the tournament, he played in all eight games.
Gert Kullamäe is an Estonian basketball coach and a former professional basketball player who currently coaches Estonian team BC Pärnu Sadam. Kullamäe mostly played at the shooting guard position and was a great 3-point shooter. As a player he is a seven-time Estonian Champion and also a Soviet Union, Lithuanian, Belgian and Dutch champion.
Steponas Babrauskas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as assistant coach at BC Pieno žvaigždės.
Darius Maskoliūnas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, former player, and politician.
BC Statyba was a basketball club from Vilnius, Lithuania. It was renamed to Lietuvos rytas in 1997.
Lukas Lekavičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.80 m, he plays the point guard position. He was named to the LKL All-Tournament Team in 2017.
Algirdas Linkevičius is a retired Lithuanian basketball player, coach, most notable for his playing career in Žalgiris from 1969 to 1982.
Basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania. Lithuanian-American basketball coaches and players in the 1930s helped the Lithuania men's national basketball team win the last EuroBasket tournaments prior to World War II, in 1937 and 1939, causing a massive impact in Lithuanian society and a basketball popularity spike. Since then, despite Lithuania's small size, with a population of just almost 2.9 million, the country's devotion to basketball has made them a traditional force of the sport in Europe.
Vitaly Maiorov was a Lithuanian chess player with Russian origin who holds the title of International Master. He was Lithuanian Chess Championship silver and bronze medalist.
