Short answers, pulled from the story.
Lithuania won bronze medals at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics, making three consecutive Olympic podium finishes after independence was restored. The team also finished fourth in 2004 and 2008, and eighth in 2012. Their biggest Olympic defeat came at the 1992 Barcelona Games against the United States, losing 76-127.
Frank Lubin was an American-born player of Lithuanian descent who won gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Going by the name Pranas Lubinas in Lithuania, he spent five months there as the country's first knowledgeable coach before EuroBasket 1937, helping Lithuania win the European championship for the first time. He was called the grandfather of Lithuanian basketball and returned to coach the team to a second European title in 1939, scoring the buzzer-beater in the decisive final against Latvia for a 37-36 victory.
Grateful Dead members read a newspaper story in the San Francisco Chronicle about Lithuania's financial difficulties following independence and decided to help. Drummer Mickey Hart said the story resonated as "a struggle for life, liberty and freedom." The band donated $5,000 and helped launch a trade in tie-dyed jerseys featuring the iconic Slam-Dunking Skeleton designed by New York artist Greg Speirs, with profits going to the Lithuanian team and a fund for Lithuanian children.
Lithuania won the EuroBasket tournament in 1937, 1939, and 2003. The 1937 and 1939 titles were won before World War II, with the team heavily reliant on Lithuanian American players from Chicago and other US cities. The 2003 title in Sweden came 64 years after the second championship, with Šarūnas Jasikevičius named tournament MVP after a 93-84 final victory over Spain.
Lithuania came within two points of defeating the United States Dream Team in the 2000 Olympic semifinals. With 1:36 remaining, Lithuania led 80-79, but the US regained the lead and won 85-83, the smallest margin of victory the Dream Team had ever achieved against professional opposition. American coach Rudy Tomjanovich said the Lithuanians "played focused and played the high level basketball" and were unlucky to miss free throws in the closing moments.
Skully is the nickname for the Slam-Dunking Skeleton design created by New York artist Greg Speirs for the Lithuanian national team before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The tie-dyed jerseys featured a skeleton dunking a flaming basketball as a symbol of Lithuania rising from the ashes following Soviet occupation. The skeleton character was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only cartoon character to be enshrined in any sports Hall of Fame.