Basketball is more than just a game in Lithuania.
It is so popular that it is jokingly referred to as the country’s second religion behind Catholicism. Lithuanians are extremely proud that their tiny country has consistently produced national teams that are among the best in the world. Basketball is an important part of the country’s national identity, and it has also played an important role in its history.
Basketball was first introduced to Lithuania in 1920, but the sport was slow to catch on. It didn’t become popular until Frank Lubin accepted an offer to coach basketball in Lithuania, the birthplace of his parents. Lubin won a gold medal on the 1936 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He had a successful college basketball career. With Lubin as their coach, the 1937 and 1939 Lithuanian national teams won the European championships and established Lithuania as a basketball powerhouse.
Just months after Lithuania’s 1939 victory, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. Two years later, the Russians invaded Lithuania. More than 150,000 Lithuanians were sent to forced labor camps called gulags, and countless others were exiled, tortured, or killed.
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