Basketball Club Žalgiris () is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL, Lithuanian Basketball League). Founded in 1944, it is one of the oldest teams in the EuroLeague. Žalgiris is one of 11 European clubs to hold long-term licenses with the EuroLeague, which provides a guaranteed place in the regular-season phase of this league. Since the 2011–12 season, Žalgiris plays its home games in Žalgiris Arena, which was built just before EuroBasket 2011. The club's name commemorates the victorious Battle of Žalgiris (Battle of Grunwald). Both Žalgiris and Grunwald translate to "green wood". Žalgiris has featured many Lithuanian basketball legends during its history, including Arvydas Sabonis, Modestas Paulauskas and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. Nine of the fifteen Lithuanian basketball players to play in the North American National Basketball Association (NBA) have played for Žalgiris or were part of the Žalgiris youth program at one point in their careers (Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Donatas Motiejūnas, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Darius Songaila, Martynas Andriuškevičius, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, Arnoldas Kulboka). The team is the most-decorated Lithuanian basketball club, having won 23 Lithuanian championships, 5 Soviet championships, 1 European championship. History 1944–1982 Basketball Club Žalgiris was formed in 1944. First, team was named ASK (1945–47), then SKIF (1947-1949), from 1950 team was named Žalgiris. The team quickly rose to prominence, winning multiple Lithuanian basketball championships, also winning the USSR Premier Basketball League in 1947 and 1951. The team won silver medals in the 1949 and 1952 championships, and bronze in 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956. Žalgiris also won the USSR Basketball Cup in 1953. The team at the time was led by Stepas Butautas, Vytautas Kulakauskas, Justinas Lagunavičius, Kazimieras Petkevičius, and later, by Stasys Stonkus and Algirdas Lauritėnas. In the 1960s, the team's play declined, and many new young players joined the team, such as Modestas Paulauskas, Romualdas Venzbergas, Henrikas Giedraitis, Algirdas Linkevičius and Sergejus Jovaiša. The team won bronze medals in the Soviet Union championship in 1971, 1973 and 1978. In 1980, Žalgiris won the silver medals, and debuted in the 1980–81 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup the next season. 1983–1987: Fame Žalgiris became the dominant club in Soviet Union and Europe when they added new talents to the team – Valdemaras Chomičius and Rimas Kurtinaitis – and coach Vladas Garastas. The biggest addition though was 17-year-old Arvydas Sabonis, who debuted in the club in 1981