Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis (; born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian former 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 (appro ...

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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). 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 pre ...

in 2014 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. Originally built in ...

in 2015. In the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, together with teammate Arvydas Sabonis, 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, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

bronze medals, in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. He was an All-Tournament Team member, the top scorer, and the MVP of the EuroBasket 1995, and he was also elected to the All-EuroBasket Team in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. Marčiulionis is also often remembered for and associated with the Euro step move during his seven seasons playing in the NBA, which was popularized by Manu Ginóbili in the mid-2000s.

Early life

Marčiulionis was the second son of Laimutė, a geography teacher, and Juozas, an engineer. Given that Laimutė aggravated a 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 Krėv� ...

's works. Growing up in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, Marčiulionis took up

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 the use of makeshift explosives, Marčiulionis changed to the sport of basketball. In the

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was ''de facto'' one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944 ...

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

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, 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, sect ...

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, in Vilnius, Marčiulionis struck up a friendship with one of the opposing players, Donnie Nelson, despite the language barrier. Nelson's father Don Nelson would later be the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, managed to void the pick by showing Marčiulionis was age 23, one year older than the age the draft rules prescribed for European players. , Marčiulionis was the last NBA player to have his selection ineligible in an

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

due to him being above the draft age limitations at the time of his initial selection. The Hawks then pursued Marčiulionis using then-owner

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

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

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

matches in Moscow, in 1988. While Marčiulionis signed a contract with Atlanta, the day after he won the gold medal in the

, the team wound up not submitting it to the NBA'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, along with Byron Houston, to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994 in exchange for Carlos Rogers, Ricky Pierce, and two 1995 second-round draft picks. 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

for Frank Brickowski. 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, 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 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. 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 Donnie Nelson. Sponsor deals struck by him included

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

and the rock band

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

, 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. ...

''. 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 (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. 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 (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 comme ...

(NEBL), and also became its commissioner. The NEBL would later be absorbed into the Baltic Basketball League. 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 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; 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 two 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 ...

to serve in the Ninth European Parliament. 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 () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

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 he ...

for his son, by appealing to Donnie Nelson, 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 Merritt College is a Public college, public community college in Oakland, California, United States. Merritt, like the other three campuses of the Peralta Community College District, is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accr ...

, 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, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

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 made his debut in the Lithuanian Basketball League 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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

basketball, and on June 16, 2021, signed a letter of intent 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 the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 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 Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 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 List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 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;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, 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;",

, 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;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 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 NBA players from Lithuania Olympic basketball players for Lithuania Olympic basketball players for 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 expatriate basketball people in the United States Soviet men's basketball players Soviet expatriate basketball people