Career: New Hampton High-School (USA, 1997-98), Wake Forest (NCAA Div. 1, 1998-2002), CSKA Moscow (Russia-Superleague, 2002-03), Sacramento Kings (NBA, 2003-05), Chicago Bulls (2005-06).

Even though Darius Songaila didn't have the most impressive statistics coming out of Sacramento last year, he was on many teams' wish list as a free agent. After skipping the 2005 EuroBasket to be sure he would land on the right team, he chose the young Bulls because he liked what coach Scott Skiles was trying to do in Chicago. He brought to the born-again franchise just what they needed - some toughness in the paint, some experience too, and the kind of basketball IQ you will find in almost any Lithuanian national team player.

Just as Jasikevicius, Songaila is a cross-culture player, who spent four years in the NCAA before coming back to Europe and joining the NBA eventually. Badly injured during the regular season this year (fractured foot), Songaila missed the playoffs and will use the World Championship as his test run before coming back to Chicago.