Arvydas Sabonis gave it his all in the 1992 Olympics despite injuries starting to take their toll on his body then. Unfortunately, he and the Lithuanian squad, which was playing in its first Olympics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fell to the Dream Team in the semifinals.
As a consolation, they clinched the bronze medal, although Sabonis and two other teammates went missing during the awards ceremony hours after the bout. According to Jonathan Abrams, formerly of Grantland , the European big man was found a couple of days later in one of the women's dormitories.
What he had done there wasn't exactly known, but legends say that he and several of his teammates went to the Olympic dormitory to challenge other athletes to arm wrestling battles for shots during the downtime.
Sabas, the strongman
While basketball was the multi-awarded center's primary sport, he probably could have ventured into other disciplines because of his Herculean strength. Per Abrams, Sabonis defeated other Olympians in the arm wrestling derby, including wrestlers and shot putters.
Some might wonder why he decided to leave the stadium after recording 27 points and 16 rebounds in Lithuania's win in the battle for third against a Unified Team of other former Soviet republics to cap off a stellar showing in the tournament.
Sabonis reportedly had several hours to spare, as the ceremony took place after the gold medal contest. However, the matchup between the USA and Croatia was nine hours past Lithuania's final game. So, the big guy chose to have some fun, although going overboard likely wasn't in his plans.
Still, Dream Team member Chris Mullin wasn't surprised, as the Lithuanian players basked in the Olympic festivities like a typical Deadhead would.
"I knew how they used to roll," said Mullin . "I think they came out with their tie-dye on. They did what the Deadheads do. They got loosened up, made use of their free time."
Lithuania's gratitude towards the Grateful Dead
Some might be wondering why Mullin pointed out the connection between the Lithuania men's national basketball team and the Deadheads, the term used to describe the fandom of the American rock band Grateful Dead.
As alluded to earlier, the country was still only a couple of years into reclaiming its independence from the Soviet Union. However, remnants of the Soviet Armed Forces had still sporadically carried out military aggression against the state at the time, depleting the nation's economy further.
As such, funding for its athletics program was still scarce. Fortunately, fundraising programs led by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation and national legend Sarunas Marciulionis, who once suited up for the Golden State Warriors, gained steam and garnered the attention of the Grateful Dead. The band helped sponsor the squad, which explains why the players rocked the Lithuanian flag-inspired tie-dye shirt, a signature apparel of TGD and the Deadheads.
Sabonis said upon seeing the shirt featuring "Skully," a skeleton dunking a flaming ball, "Wow, this really is a free Lithuania." And it appears he really enjoyed that freedom during the 1992 Olympics.
Related: “I'm a slow, fat white guy. But those slow, fat white guys beat the U.S.” - Sarunas Jasikevicius on beating Team USA in 2004 Olympics
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