"It has been eight years since Arvydas Sabonis has been in Portland, but the former Trail Blazers great said it seemed like yesterday when he was honored during a sun-splashed gathering at Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square.

An estimated 2,500 people showered Sabonis with applause, chants of his name and signs Thursday, nearly a week after he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

"I feel like I've been here the whole time," said Sabonis, who lives in Kaunas, Lithuania. Always a humble and private person, Sabonis appeared embarrassed by the attention and adulation.

"I say thank you for remembering me," Sabonis told the crowd. "I'm surprised." "