Chris Mullin remembering Lithuanian legend Sarunas Marciulionis: 'Jordan and Pippen didn't want to guard him' / News - Basketnews.com

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Lithuanian basketball legend Sarunas Marciulionis was one of the first players to pave the way for Europeans to the NBA. His play has not been forgotten ever since then.

Šarūnas Marčiulionis

Position:SGAge:57Height:194 cmBirth place:Kaunas, LithuaniaProfileNewsStatistics

Marciulionis' ex-teammate in the Golden State Warriors, Chris Mullin, appeared in the Knuckleheads podcast, where he had plenty of great things to say about Sarunas.

"There were other players before him, but I thought the first guy that came over and had a big-time role on a winning team. He was an NBA player. He was highly talented. Everybody wanted Sarunas.

At that time, he might have been the strongest guy in the NBA. He had crazy hands. He would do down and not knock the ball, he would go with two hands and just take it from people."

Mullin played with Marciulionis from 1989 to 1994 and told the story about the Chicago Bulls' superstars avoiding being matched up against the Lithuanian.

"Sarunas was one of those guys, a little like Bernard King. As an offensive player, he would punish you, he would hurt you because he was so strong. We were playing the Bulls, and Sarunas was shooting a free throw, and I happened to be at halfcourt with Jordan and Pippen. And they were like: "Man, you guard him. I'm not trying to get banged up with this dude. He's running me over, man."

The five-time NBA All-Star Game participant also talked about visiting Marciulionis in Lithuania.

"Sarunas is one of the nicest guys in the world. I've been to Lithuania several times to visit him. To me, he was a trailblazer for the international players. Because the guys respected him. Back then, European players were shooters, and they were soft. He was the opposite. He was tough as nails."

Marciulionis' had his best NBA season in 1991-92. The guard averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals over 29 minutes.

Mullin's memories about Marciulionis (starting from 1:03:37)

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