Sabonis' earliest international success was a bronze for the Soviet Union at the European Championship of 1983, followed by a gold in 1985 at both the European Championship and the World University Games. In 1984 Sabonis joined Žalgiris (in Kaunas) and led them to three consecutive Soviet league titles.

In the 1985 NBA Draft he was a fourth round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks but this was later nullified because of his age (he was under 21). In the 1986 NBA Draft he was the Portland Trail Blazers' first pick (24th overall), but again he couldn't play for them due to the political circumstances at the time.

He won the gold medal for the Soviet Union in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and played for Lithuania when they won bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and were runners-up in the 1995 European Championships.

In 1989 he was allowed to leave the Soviet Union but he didn't go to the NBA and instead chose Forum Valladolid, and Real Madrid in 1992, whom he led to league championships in 1993 and 1994 and to the European Club Championship in 1995. He was named European Player of the Year four times.

In 1995 he finally joined the NBA with the Trail Blazers, and won Rookie of the Month and Player of the Week awards in 1996. He was later runner-up for both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man awards. He remained with Portland for seven years, playing in 470 regular season and 51 playoff matches with them and often leading the team in rebounds. He was a very effective player in the NBA, but his career there had considerable "what-will-own-been" overtones. Had he joined the Blazers when they were at their peak in the early 1990s, many Portland fans feel it would have been a dynasty. During his years in Europe, he suffered a series of knee and Achilles' tendon injuries that robbed him of most of his mobility.

In 2003, Sabonis returned to Lithuania and bought a major stake in his old club Žalgiris. He also played for Žalgiris in the 2003-04 season, winning the MVP award in both the regular-season and Top 16 phases of the Euroleague (the basketball equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) and being named to the All-Euroleague team. He retired as a player after the 2004-05 season.

His wife Ingrida Mikelionytė Saboniene was the winner of the first Lithuanian beauty pageant, "The Beauty of Vilnius 88". They have four children.

Sabonis speaks five languages: Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and English.

de:Arvydas Sabonis fr:Arvydas Sabonis it:Arvydas Sabonis he:ארבידאס סאבוניס lt:Arvydas Sabonis