After spending the last eight years away from Rip City, former Portland Trail Blazers center and fan favorite Arvydas Sabonis is set to make an appearance August 18th in Oregon. Casey Holdahl from Trailblazers.com posted this about Sabas coming home to Portland:
“…Eight-plus years after leaving Portland behind, Arvydas is finally coming back. Sabonis will return to the Rose City on August 18 for a weekend of festivities celebrating his career in Portland and induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2011. For the first time since 2003, people in Portland will have an opportunity to pay their respects to one of the most iconic players in basketball’s history.
Hopefully there will be a gathering to celebrate Sabas that is open to the public, but specifics are still being worked out. Expect an official announcement with times and dates to come in the next few days.”
For those fans outside of the Pacific Northwest this may not seem like such a big deal. However, true fans of the game understand just how great a player Sabonis was and how much he means to the community in Portland. That he will be returning to some kind of public forum on the cusp of his induction into the Hall of Fame speaks to how much he appreciates all that community has done for him.
I’ll be reporting from the event so look to see a plethora of pictures and ethereal tomes about the big Lithuanian whether you like it or not. Those of us who love the game know that Sabonis was one of the greatest to have ever played. That we weren’t privy to the majority of his legend state-side only adds further to his tale.
The newest edition to The Hoop Doctors writing staff, Dane Carbaugh is the editor and lead writer of the popular new basketball blog A Young Sabonis. Dane is a published research author and also writes for Dime Magazine and the ESPN TrueHoop Affiliate Portland Roundball Society. He can be found on Twitter at @DaneCarbaugh
