2021 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Sergey Tarakanov

MIES (Switzerland) – Sergey Tarakanov, the Olympic, FIBA Basketball World Cup and three-time FIBA EuroBasket champion from Russia, is being inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Tarakanov is being enshrined in the Class of 2021, with legendary players Mathieu Faye (Senegal), Hana Horakova (Czech Republic), Panagiotis Giannakis (Greece),  Stanislav Kropilak (Slovakia), Oscar Moglia (Uruguay -posthumously), Detlef Schrempf (Germany), Penka Stoyanova (Bulgaria – posthumously) and Haixia Zheng (China) and coaching greats Chuck Daly (USA – posthumously), Tom Maher (Australia) and Ettore Messina (Italy).

From the time that Sergey Tarakanov poured in 22 points for the Soviet Union in their FIBA EuroBasket 1979 title triumph over Israel in Turin – a performance that clinched the award as the best newcomer of the event – the 2.01m (6ft 6in) forward had an important place in the national team.

Tarakanov became an automatic selection and would go on to play for the Soviets every summer, be it in Olympic Games, FIBA Basketball World Cups or EuroBaskets. There were plenty of highlights, too.

In addition to 1979, Tarakanov reached the top of the podium at the EuroBaskets in 1981 and 1985,  captured a FIBA Basketball World Cup 1982 crown, as well as the 1988 Olympic gold medal in Seoul.

In all, Tarakanov played for the Soviet national team from 1979 until 1990. And of the great successes, one that ranks at the top was the Olympic gold in Korea.

Tarakanov averaged 8.1 points per game for a team that had other legendary players like Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis and Sasha Volkov. That triumph was unforgettable. He remembers the game, and the celebrations, as if it happened only yesterday.

“As soon as we got to the Olympic Village after the game,” he said in an interview with sport-express.ru, “I rushed to the telephone booth, called my wife and mother and shouted into the phone: ‘We won!’ They didn’t know the result yet; the final was shown by recording. Then we sat with the guys and celebrated.”

That success meant that Tarakanov had been a part of teams that had captured the biggest of titles.

By that point, he had already built up an impressive CV in the club game, first in Leningrad with Spartak, and then with CSKA Moscow, a team he captained from 1985 to 1990. In his career with CSKA, he won seven Soviet League titles.

Among those to pay tribute to Tarakanov was another Russian legend, Andrei Kirilenko, who serves as president of the country’s basketball federation.

“With his brilliant game, he certainly earned the recognition of the world basketball community,” Kirilenko said. “This is a real iconic player, whose name is associated with all the successes of the USSR national team in the 80s.

“These are real legends who have created the bright basketball history of our country. It’s great when their outstanding services are recognized not only by us but also by the world community.”  

source：FIBA