By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
European basketball on this day is recognized globally as a big part of the sport, however when Sarunas Marciulionis left the Soviet Union in order to play in the NBA things were very different. He was one of the pioneers and this weekend he became a member of the basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
He got great company as the class of 2014 included David Stern, Alonzo Mourning, Mitch Richmond, Nolan Richardson, Gary Williams, Bob Leonard, Nat Clifton and Guy Rodgers. Still, Marciulionis’ legacy is very unique and as he joined an other legend, Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuania – a country where basketball is the official “religion” – has now two members in the “Hall of Fame”.
As he said during his speach: “I was a strange duck in the locker room at Golden State. I am proud that now it’s over 20 percent international players in the league. I don’t want anybody to be in my shoes, what we experienced in the first years. I’m just happy that life is better for newcomers.”