Less than a year after scoring 28 points in an 82-76 Soviet victory over the United States in the semi-finals of the 1988 Summer Olympics, 6-foot-5 guard Rimas Kurtinaitis found himself on the receiving end of an invitation to participate in the 1989 NBA 3-Point Shootout, despite having never played for an NBA team.
"I was surprised they invited me," Kurtinaitis said through an interpreter at the time. "They invited me and my wife so I came. It would be nice to play here (in the NBA). It is every player's dream all over the world to play in the NBA."
The invitation didn't sit well with everyone, however.
“If he comes over and wins, a lot of guys are going to be teed off," Utah Jazz All-Star Karl Malone said. "You can’t just arbitrarily throw a guy in there from anywhere.”
Malone's teammate, John Stockton, agreed. “It’s nothing against the fact that he’s a Soviet. It’s just that he’s not in this league. If you have an NBA event, you’ve got to have NBA players.”
Still, Kurtinaitis made the trip and the show went on as scheduled. Unfortunately, the results were underwhelming. Perhaps fighting a strong case of nerves, Kurtinaitis scored just nine points in the opening round, finishing in last place.
Derek Harper, meanwhile, tied for fifth.
More on Kurtinaitis' invitation: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/02/10/Soviet-Olympic-hero-Rimas-Kurtinaitis-said-Friday-he-was/9695603090000/
On the topic of Kurtinaitis' plain jersey: https://uni-watch.com/2017/02/22/rimas-kurtinaitis-wore-plain-jersey-in-1989-three-point-shootout/
The full 1989 NBA 3-Point Shootout can be seen here, courtesy of Pred21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCuNKJSCHk4&
