Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis () (born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). On August 8, 2014, Marčiulionis was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

, and became a member of the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

in 2015. In the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, together with teammate

Arvydas Sabonis Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian former 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 p ...

, Marčiulionis led the senior USSR national team to the gold medal. With the senior Lithuanian national team, he won two

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

bronze medals, in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. He was an All-Tournament Team member, the top scorer, and the MVP of the

EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...

, and he was also elected to the All-EuroBasket Team in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. Marčiulionis is also often remembered and associated with the

Euro step The Euro step, two-step, or long lateral is a basketball move in which an offensive player picks up their dribble, takes a step in one direction, and then quickly takes a second step in another direction. It is intended to allow the offensive play ...

move, which was popularized by

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...

in the mid-2000s, during Marčiulionis' seven seasons playing in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Early life

Marčiulionis was the second son of Laimutė, a geography teacher, and Juozas, an engineer. Given that Laimutė aggravated her spinal injury, while giving birth to his sister Zita, her determination in having a son led to the middle name Šarūnas, invoking a legendary knight from

Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius Vincas Mickevičius (pl. ''Wincenty Mickiewicz'', October 19, 1882 – July 17, 1954), better known by his pen name Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, was a Lithuanian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and philologist. He is also known as Vincas Krė ...

's works. Growing up in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Marčiulionis took up

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

while growing up, being an

ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...

player, focused on forehands. Given his unorthodox technique, and an increasingly bulky frame, he eventually gave up on the sport. At the age of 13, following a hospitalization caused by makeshift explosives, Marčiulionis changed to the sport of basketball. In the

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

, he and his friends had to build their own outdoor basketball court on a parking lot. As he moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, to study journalism at Vilnius State University of Vincas Kapsukas, and possibly try out for the Soviet junior national team, all Marčiulionis' parents could provide him was, "one bag containing a very small amount of clothes, and another full of apples."

Professional career

Statyba

While Marčiulionis attended college, he rarely played basketball, but he eventually attracted a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

from Statyba, of the USSR Premier League, in 1981. He would play with Statyba, in the USSR League, from 1981 to 1989.

NBA

During a 1985 game against

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

, in Vilnius, Marčiulionis struck a friendship with one of the opponent players,

Donnie Nelson Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...

, despite the language barrier. Nelson's father,

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

would later be the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, and what he said about Marčiulionis' skills led the Warriors to draft him, in the 6th round of the 1987 NBA draft. Stan Kasten, president and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

, managed to void the pick, by showing Marčiulionis was age 23, one year older than the age the draft rules limited for European players. The Hawks then pursued Marčiulionis using then-owner

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

's connections with the Soviet Union, inviting him and other Soviet players to their training camp, and arranging for Hawks-

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

matches in Moscow, in 1988. While Marčiulionis signed a contract with Atlanta, the day after he won the gold medal in Seoul, the team wound up not submitting it to the

's offices, as the Soviets said they would not permit the player to leave. Eventually, Nelson's influence helped Marčiulionis with his social projects in Vilnius, and led him to remain with the Warriors, with whom he signed a three-year $3.8 million contract, in 1989. Marčiulionis became the first Soviet player to join the North American league, and played four years with the Warriors, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1992. Marčiulionis became one of the first Europeans to get significant playing time in the NBA, helping to lead the way for the internationalization of the league in the late 1990s. After missing a year-and-a-half with a leg injury, he was traded to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

, along with

Byron Houston Byron Dwight Houston (born November 22, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'5", 250-pound power forward, he played collegiately for Oklahoma State University and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (27t ...

, in exchange for Carlos Rogers,

Ricky Pierce Richard Charles Pierce (born August 19, 1959) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year (19 ...

, and two 1995 second-round draft picks in 1994. In 1995, Marčiulionis and Houston were traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

for

Frank Brickowski Francis Anthony Brickowski (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College and overseas career Born in Bayville, New York, Brickowski played college baske ...

. He finished his NBA career with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, in the 1996–97 season.

National team career

Soviet national team

In 1982 and 1983, Marčiulionis played sparingly with the Soviet juniors. He won a gold medal at the 1982 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and a silver medal at the 1983 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, in Spain. Marčiulionis was frequently the last man cut from the senior

Soviet Union national basketball team The Soviet Union men's national basketball team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по баскетболу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po basketbolu) was the national basketball team that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After t ...

training camps, until he finally got his chance with the senior team in 1987, having a breakout performance, while winning a silver medal at the

EuroBasket 1987 The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the e ...

. Marčiulionis would also be one of the standout players, as the Soviets won the gold medal at the

Lithuanian national team

Following the restoration of Lithuanian independence, in 1990, Marčiulionis almost single-handedly resurrected the senior Lithuanian national team. He contacted prospective players, encouraged several to join, selected the uniforms, negotiated a shoe deal, and arranged for sponsorships, along with friend

. Sponsor deals struck by him included

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

and the rock band

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

, who were interested in supporting Lithuania, after reading a story on Marčiulionis and the national team, in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

''. The Grateful Dead also helped launch a line of

tie-dye Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques and the resulting dyed products of these processes. The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding ...

d jerseys, that would feature Lithuania's national colors, along with a slam dunking skeleton, created by New York artist Greg Speirs. Speirs became a major sponsor when he donated 100% of his profits from his design to fund the team, and to Lithuanian children's charities, amounting to at least $450,000. The team went on to win a bronze medal at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. Marčiulionis was again a bronze medalist with Lithuania, at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In 1995, he was named the MVP of the 1995 FIBA EuroBasket, after leading Lithuania to a silver medal in the tournament. In 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991, he was voted the best sportsman in Lithuania. Marčiulionis' basketball career and journey to represent his native country Lithuania in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics is highlighted in the documentary film " The Other Dream Team". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012 and was distributed by Lionsgate in the U.S. and Disney internationally.

Post-playing career

In 1992, Marčiulionis opened the Šarūnas Hotel in

. In 1993, he founded the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

(LKL), and also became its president. In 1999, Marčiulionis founded the

North European Basketball League The North European Basketball League, or Northern European Basketball League (NEBL), was a short-lived regional professional basketball league. It was founded in 1998, by Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Dmitry Buriak. The league was the first commerc ...

(NEBL), and also became its commissioner. The NEBL would later be absorbed into the

Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus have participated in the Baltic L ...

. Today, he is one of the most successful businessmen in Lithuania. He was also the President of the Šarūnas Marčiulionis Basketball Academy. On February 14, 2014, Marčiulionis was announced as a 2014 player inductee, by the

; he formally entered the Hall on August 8. On September 19, 2015, Marčiulionis was inducted into the

. On October 2, 2015, it was announced that Šarūnas Hotel was closed. The nearby Šarūnas Marčiulionis Basketball academy meanwhile, was closed after the 2015–16 season. On May 26, 2019, Marčiulionis was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

to serve in the

Ninth European Parliament The ninth European Parliament was elected in the 2019 elections and is to last until the 2024 elections. Major events *23–26 May 2019 ** Elections to the 9th European Parliament. ***EPP (182 seats), S&D (154), RE (108), Greens/EFA (74), ...

. However, on May 28, he announced that he decided to give up his seat in the European Parliament.

Personal life

Even with language barriers, Marčiulionis was a devoted teammate, and active in the communities he played in. In 1987, he helped a

Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...

man get an

artificial heart valve An artificial heart valve is a one-way valve implanted into a person's heart to replace a heart valve that is not functioning properly (valvular heart disease). Artificial heart valves can be separated into three broad classes: mechanical hear ...

for his son, by appealing to

, who arranged an operation for the teenager in the United States. In the aftermath of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, Marčiulionis appeared at the site of a commuter train accident, wearing his Warriors warm up outfit, and he helped by pulling out trapped passengers and administering first aid. After he joined the Warriors, Marčiulionis's wife Inga enrolled at Merritt College, where she walked on to their women's basketball team and was a star player for two seasons. She became one of 147 women in women's college basketball history to score 50 or more points in a college game while at Merritt College, and joined the faculty of Merritt College after graduating. She served as

of Merritt's women's basketball team, and is now the head of their

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

department. Marčiulionis and Inga are divorced and have one daughter. Inga lives in the United States and continues her work at Merritt College. Marčiulionis married Laura Mikelionytė on March 10, 2012. Šarūnas' son

Augustas Marčiulionis Augustas Marčiulionis (born 21 March 2002) is a Lithuanian basketball player who currently plays for NCAA Division I Saint Mary's College after having played for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing , he plays the ...

made his debut in the

on September 19, 2020, as a member of his father's first professional team Rytas Vilnius. Augustas played on an amateur contract to preserve his eligibility to play

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

basketball, and on June 16, 2021, signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to play at Saint Mary's College starting in the 2021–22 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 75 , , 3 , , 22.6 , , .519 , , .256 , , .787 , , 2.9 , , 1.6 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 50 , , 10 , , 19.7 , , .501 , , .167 , , .724 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 72 , , 5 , , 29.4 , , .538 , , .300 , , .788 , , 2.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 30 , , 8 , , 27.9 , , .543 , , .200 , , .761 , , 3.2 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 66 , , 4 , , 18.1 , , .473 , , .402 , , .732 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 53 , , 0 , , 19.6 , , .452 , , .408 , , .775 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .376 , , .367 , , .806 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 363 , , 30 , , 22.4 , , .505 , , .369 , , .768 , , 2.3 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 12.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 9 , , 0 , , 22.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .897 , , 2.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 4 , , 0 , , 33.3 , , .532 , , .500 , , .829 , , 2.3 , , 5.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 25.3 , , .276 , , .222 , , .600 , , 1.8 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 0 , , 25.9 , , .469 , , .238 , , .821 , , 2.3 , , 3.6 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 13.7

References

External links

* at Krepsinis.net
Šarūnas Marčiulionis
at Basketnews.lt * *

at archive.fiba.com

at archive.fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Marciulionis, Sarunas 1964 births Living people Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Kaunas BC Statyba players Businesspeople from Kaunas Denver Nuggets players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Lithuanian men's basketball players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Lithuanian Sportsperson of the Year winners Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association players from Lithuania Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Olympic basketball players of the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball Sacramento Kings players Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Soviet expatriates in the United States Soviet men's basketball players