By Veronica An
In 1989, Sarunas Marciulionis was the first Soviet Union player to compete in a regular season NBA game. Marciulionis was already a recognized point-guard in Lithuania by the time he joined the Golden State Warriors. He was known for his left-hand dribble and led the National Lithuanian team to a Gold medal in 1988. Marciulionis was the NBA’s 6th pick in 1987, he went on to play four years with the Warriors and was the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1992. In addition to his time in the NBA, Marciulionis is also remembered for helping to restart the senior Lithuanian national team in 1990; he encouraged players to join, negotiated a shoe deal, arranged for sponsorships, including the one with Grateful Dead, and led the team to a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics.