Zalgiris honors club legend Arvydas Sabonis

The club chose its game against Real Madrid, one of his former clubs, to pay homage to the legendary center

Arvydas Sabonis received a standing ovation before the game between Zalgiris Kaunas and Real Madrid.

The fact that he is not a fan of public appearances made the evening even more significant. This night was chosen for the ceremony because Zalgiris played against Real, one of Sabonis's former teams, and the iconic center turned 60 years old recently, on December 19. Honoring Sabonis was the latest special event among Zalgiris's 80th anniversary celebrations.

Zalgiris used artificial intelligence to turn old photos into the videos that were shown on the jumbotron during the pregame tribute.

Sabonis is more than a Zalgiris legend. He is the club's Honorary President and the best player to ever come out of basketball-crazy Lithuania. As a player, Sabonis was a generational talent ahead of this time, a 2.21-meter mobile center who could run the floor and pass the ball like a guard, take three-point shots and finish in the paint with great authority. His off-the-charts basketball IQ allowed him to dominate almost any basketball game. Sabonis is also a Lithuanian icon who remained loyal to his country, as the country's most famous sports person when it regained independence in the early 1990s.

Born in Kaunas, Sabonis made his Zalgiris's first-team debut in 1981. He helped Zalgiris win three consecutive Soviet Union League titles from 1985 to 1987, setting up a legendary, ongoing sports rivalry with CSKA Moscow. His matchup against CSKA center Vladimir Tkachenko defined an era in European basketball. They played together on the Soviet Union national team, which Sabonis helped win respective gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games, 1982 Basketball World Cup and EuroBasket 1985. When Lithuania became independent, Sabonis led its national team to Olympic bronze medals in 1992 and 1996 and silver at EuroBasket 1995.

Despite two Achilles tendon injuries that led to chronic knee, ankle and groin issues, Sabonis went on to play in Spain, first for Valladolid and then for Real, which he led to the 1995 EuroLeague crown as the Final Four MVP. Even he was no longer than explosive, Sabonis changed his game, enhancing his three-point shooting and unique passing skills.

Sabonis played in the NBA for seven seasons for the Portland TrailBlazers before returning to Zalgiris, where he played the 2003-04 EuroLeague. At age 40, Sabonis simply dominated, averaging 16.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and a league-best PIR of 26.3. He took Zalgiris to the very gates of the 2004 Final Four, but a heartbreaking overtime loss against Maccabi in Tel Aviv prevented his team from reaching even higher.

One of his sons, Domantas Sabonis, is an NBA star. Another, Tautvydas, is one of Zalgiris's assistant coaches. More than 20 years after retiring from basketball, if Zalgiris is mentioned anywhere around the world, Arvydas Sabonis is the first player who comes to mind.