Sportin Lithuania is governed by the Physical Education and Sports Department following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The Lithuanian government established the department to manage physical education in the schools and sports administration in the country. Over the next few years, Lithuanian sports organizations established membership in international governing bodies. Lithuania participated in the Winter Olympics in Albertville and has participated in every Winter and Summer Olympics since.
Arvydas Romas Sabonis is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, 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 team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga. Founded in 1944, it is one of the oldest teams in the EuroLeague. Žalgiris is one of 11 European clubs to hold long-term licenses with the EuroLeague, which provides a guaranteed place in the regular-season phase of this league. Since the 2011–12 season, Žalgiris plays its home games in Žalgiris Arena, which was built just before EuroBasket 2011. The club's name commemorates the victorious Battle of Žalgiris. Both Žalgiris and Grunwald translate to "green wood".
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 their history, including Arminas Narbekovas, Valdas Ivanauskas, Edgaras Jankauskas and Deividas Šemberas. They have won the Lithuanian Championship 8 times, the Lithuanian Football Cup 12 times and the Lithuanian Supercup 7 times.
Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB 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.
Rimas Kurtinaitis is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, 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 retired Lithuanian 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 the head coach for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). 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 Soviet and 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.
Jurij "Jure" Zdovc is a Slovenian former professional basketball player and coach for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. As a player, he was a 1.98 m (6'6") tall point guard, who began his professional playing career with the Yugoslav Second Division club Smelt Olimpija.
Gert Kullamäe is an Estonian basketball coach and a former professional basketball player who currently coaches Estonian team 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.
Darius Maskoliūnas is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, coach, and politician. He is currently the assistant basketball coach of FC Barcelona, and the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team.
Jānis Strēlnieks is a Latvian professional basketball player who last played for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Latvia national team. Standing at 1.91 m tall, he mainly plays at the shooting guard position.
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.
