NBA Legends Explain Why Arvydas Sabonis Could Have Been The Goat
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- čas přidán 31. 01. 2023
- #arvydassabonis #portlandtrailblazers #nba #michaeljordan
In this video NBA Legends Explain Why Arvydas Sabonis was the Goat.
Arvydas Sabonis played in the NBA in thr 90s against Michael Jordan
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![Arvydas Sabonis [23pts/10reb] VS Shaquille O'Neal [27pts/8reb] - 1997](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dwUIWhYOqVs/mqdefault.jpg)
![Arvydas Sabonis [23pts/10reb] VS Shaquille O'Neal [27pts/8reb] - 1997](/img/tr.png)
Most people only remember the heavier, older version of Sabonis as a Trail Blazer, but when he was playing for the USSR in the Olympics, he was an absolute beast in his prime.
In 1988 Olympics, in Seoul, Sabonis led the USSR team to gold medal, past David Robinson, Cliff Robinson. Made them look like kids.
He was the reason the Dream Team was made.
He was the Jokic of his time.
1985 XIII Summer Universiade miraculous gold medal USA VS USSR Arvydas Romas Sabonis
czcams.com/video/PHoxK3YB0eU/video.html
way more athletic than jokic would ever be@@edlawn5481
This is the guy that even Shaquille O'Neal said he hated guarding. Shaq said he had the size to take hits from him & could space the floor out & could also pass
And also hit free throws...
Shaq isn’t the best example lol. He was an average at defense for a center
If Shaq faces Sabonis during Sabonis prime years, Shaq would not stand a chance. When he faced him in Portland, Sabonis couldn’t jump 1 inch at that point. And even then, he still competed against a prime Shaq.
@@ekirakosyan Portland got robbed
Prime Sabas was like Jokic on steroids. Outstanding athletism, great passing, good ball handling and shooting
Yup.
and way bigger😂
@@loafnjug2185 in his prime he was fit, more like Shaq in his LSU or early Orlando days
How was he Jokic in steroids when Jokic is 5x better player then him explain lol Sabonis didn't have more then 3 assists in any NBA season
@@SteveFox369smh we’re talking about what could’ve been.
I saw Arvydas a couple of times in the 80' s playng against Cibona Zagreb. What a center! One of the best ever!
The Trailblazers would have had a dynasty if Sabonis had been allowed to play in the NBA earlier . Imagine that team Terry Porter , Clyde Drexler , Jerome Kersey , etc. and that European player they drafted a year later , some guard from Cibona Zagreb 😉 !
@@charliedontsurf9155 RIP
@@oleyullahhe didnt die lil bro
Real ball fan lol who is Cibona?
@@45pounder13 Cibona is a team from Zagreb, Yugoslavia, whose leader was Drazen Petrovic before he entered the NBA.
When I first saw him play with the USSR he was 16 or 17, and he was a beast. He had all the technical abilities that never faded, was being mentored by Anatoly Mishkin and he still had healthy knees and ankles, so he could move and jump like a true athlete. He was breaking boards with dunks all around Europe.
I always felt bad that Sabonis was not allowed to play in the league when he was younger. Even older Sabonis was nice. I saw footage of him playing when he was younger, he was great.
He wasn’t allowed to play over here that’s why Portland got screwed. I mean we got to see a little bit of him and it’s a bummer because he was the best. I thought when he was on our team man I wish we had them 10 years earlier, when we were supposed to, but they were jealous of the Americans as usual we’re just trying to have fun and everybody so serious in the world lol
@Gary Monaghan maybe some Americans were jealous of Sabonis for just how good he was it might have made the league more difficult for specific players that Nike or corporations like that would not want to see happen
@@anticorporatists9959 well the Americans in Portland we all loved him. We loved watching him play so I don’t know about anybody else and that happens to be where Nike is in Beaverton Oregon so I don’t know anything about that. I just know we couldn’t wait for him to come over, and we kind of felt cheated and his country didn’t wanna let him come over here anyway that’s why a lot of people defected
@@anticorporatists9959 that’s false 😂😂
It’s all Russia fault
Arvydas was truly unique, and extremely skilled, arguably the most fundamentally sound and creative big man who's ever played. It's really a shame that he wasn't able to come to the NBA sooner, because we missed out on a top 5 all time level talent, during his prime years.
Better skilled than Olajuwon?!.. Are you drunk?..
@@jacobjones5269 I literally did not say that, I said fundamentally sound and creative... The Dream is my personal favorite center of all time. Sabonis was at no point the dominant defender or athlete that Hakim was, but offensively Sabonis in his prime was better and more athletic than Jokic.
@@laruncetaylor6461
He could play, no doubt.. But the legend grows, so to speak.. I literally watched Olajuwon pour in 20 in the 4th period, while turning the other team into 5 jump shooters!.. And I’ve never ANYONE else do that..
@@jacobjones5269 again... I'm not discounting anything you're saying, and I'll repeat that Hakim is my personal favorite and in my opinion the best all around ceneter who's ever played... but the video was about Arvydas, so I was just talking about the subject of the video.
Not more skilled than Dream, not more fundamental than Jokic. That said, he really was a beast on defense before the knees went. That's the part of his game from the European days that Americans really missed out on. He was actually a lot like Olajuwon and Robinson defensively, strange as it may sound to those who only saw him in the US.
I remember back in 1987 we felt so lucky(here in Greece)when the USSR team came without Arvidas. USSR had a dominant team but without him they were vulnerable and Nick Galis knew that. We were shocked when we saw the giant Vladimir Tkachenko in Arvidas's place . He was really good for his immense size but nothing like Sabonis. Looking back to that European championship I realize I missed an opportunity to watch live this rare player in the court.
I remember that match, bro.
Please we want hall of famer Sarunas Marculionis. Strongest, toughest and most athletic European ever played in the NBA.
Arvytus taught his son well Domantas is a rebounding and passing machine a 3 time all-star and he can shoot from 3 pretty good him and de'aaron have us winning for the first time in 16 years it's been beautiful to see Domantas flourishing it's a shame his dad couldn't but both are very dominant bigs
No doubt in my mind that he would have been amongst best big man of all time if he came earlier. Heck, if he just came healthy when he did it would still be one of the greats. Its always sad for a player to get injured specially when we get robbed of something magical.
I'm surprised there are no clips of David Robinson discussing Sabonis. Robinson played against Sabonis back in the late '80s and just raves about his skills.
He played against young Sabonis three times. In 1986 World Cup Final (win), in 1988 Olympic Games semi-final (loss) and in 1992 Olympic Games semi-final (win). They also met at 1996 Olympic Games but weren't on the court at the same time.
@@andrzejzborowski4920 I've talked with David a few times about Sabonis and he went on and on about his skills and - back then - athleticism and how he would have dominated had he gone into the NBA back then.
There is a Lithuanian documentary about Sabonis - "Sabonis 11" and there is a lengthy speech by Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon also.
@@solotenoras I used to cover the NBA for a newspaper based in Houston, so I discussed Sabonis with Olajuwon, too. Hakeem really respected Sabonis, talking about how he used skill rather than brute force to get things done on the court.
Sabonis destroyed David Robinson in their primes!
So happy that people see who Sabonis was..His value as a basketball player..One of the greatest to ever play..So unlucky that the injuries and politics got him..But still the world now knows..God bless him..!!!
Sabonis was Amazing! Great to see him get some overdue respect
Sabonis in his prime was a beast in so many ways. What a tragedy that the probably most legendary european players did not have the chance to shine in the NBA the way they could have. I am thinking of Saboni's body. I am also thinking about Adelmann benching Drazen Petrovic and Petrovic passing away in a car accident just when the NBA started to realize what an exceptional player he was.
A healthy Sabonis, a Petrovic with playing time - they would have drastically accelerated the internationalization of the NBA. And most of all: They would have dominated the game in an elite way.
One more thing about Sabonis: I can not believe my eyes what an impact on the game he had in his old days with literally no legs. How much love for the game he must have had to modify his style and find ways to be a real threat on the court. You have to admire that.
The problem is, and even Petrovic admitted to such, was that Petro was not going to start over Clyde Drexler. Petrovic was in a tough situation in Portland because of that and had to be traded to reach that potential.
@@steviem5279 I‘n not talking about starting. Just talking minutes here. From todays and european perspective Adelmann was a joke back then.
Thanks for remembering the forgotten greats Shaun! As a Jazz fan I remember Mark Eaton who was 7' 4' and missed his prime and had injury's. He reminds me of Arvydas Sabonis in a lot of ways.
You mean 'reminded you of Eaton' only of his height right ? I cant recall Eaton making a skilled bounce pass and never in a million years hit a trey.....
Jazz fans are delusional due to Mormonism… big mark could block shots and that’s it! Sabonis on the other hand was a bigger Jokic with better touch.
@@LamaniteLie Easy on the hate speech. Bullying is never acceptable, not even on CZcams.
@@LamaniteLie Anya had me until you said better touch. You should watch Jokic a little more, dude has the best touch in the league, right or left, and it’s not even close.
@@robshelden4670 that was a way of paying respect to Sabonis, Sherlock. I was disrespecting a goof that said Mark Eaton was a skilled big man… and Mormons, and now your dumb A too.
Sabonis! After this and your Abdul-Rauf one, keep them coming!
Man, the way you edited this video is just outstanding!! Just a complete, glorious presentation of this Lithuanian legend! Well done!
I remember when he came to Portland. Old, crippled up with bad knees, still a beast. He was like a thick Dirk, 7 footer that could shoot. Sabonis probably is the most under rated big, maybe the most under rated overall.
dirk could never play defense like him, and was very limited skillwise in comparison.
Sabonis underrated? I guess if you were born in the US in a certain era, maybe. Anywhere else, any other time, he's simply a legend and quite possibly the biggest "what if" in the history of basketball. That's right, it wasn't just American NBA fans that were excited about the prospect of Sabonis joining the NBA back in '86: over in Europe fans were gaping at the screen at the time of the announcement of him being drafted and were all waiting with huge anticipation for the season to start, while deep down inside knowing that it was probably too good a story to become true. Sadly, that was exactly the case and it never happened but still we got the joy of witnessing him playing in the NBA eventually and, all those of us who knew and finally were proven true, dreaming of what could have been a very different story every time we watched him amaze...
There's so many what ifs in basketball but Sabonis, not just because of him being one of the best European players of all time but probably more so because of him being the first one to have a real chance at playing in the NBA at a time when, for a European, this was simply almost unheard of.
@Lincoln Hirschi That's true. The only chance viewers had to witness Sabonis was through European or other international tournaments, that were broadcast in their country (which largely depended on which of their country's teams were participating and thus whether any were facing Sabonis' team) or from sports reporters that had, generally, first hand experience and thus were quick to pick him out of the crowd.
But there was no European basketball fan that was not aware of Sabonis, or more specifically, that he was in the top 5 European players. Whether - or how often - they had witnessed him, that's a different matter.
Ahh you forget. Petrovic. The GOAT held MJ down a lil sumtin sumtin.
@@mmsm6370 No-one forgets Petrovic. We are talking different decade here. Petrovic was in his prime when entering NBA so his case is not comparable - some aspects of his career have parallels with Sabonis' but on the whole their paths, while similar on the surface are fundamentally different. You could argue Kukoc and Petrovic had quite similar paths in the NBA but either of them and Sabonis, no.
The Biggest what if is Bill Walton before injuries.
@@daddyfuse50 There's probably many big what ifs - I probably need to check out Bill Walton. I guess one should also always bear in mind that how great a player was/could have been and how/if he was used in his team(s) are two distinct matters.
glad u made a video on true ballers like A. Sabonis
and we were lucky to see a parallel of a prime Sabonis through Jokic 🙏🏻☺️
One of the best NBA players when he wasn't in his prime. I imagine he would've been a very serious problem if he had come over to the NBA in the early 80s. An amazingly wonderful player and a pleasure to watch
Sabas had such composure with his back to the basket and was really graceful with good footwork for his size.
I had no idea who he was when I saw him play for Portland for the first time. Back then, it was crazy to see a guy of that size shooting from beyond the arc. That alone could have changed the game to more of a today's style offense even earlier if more teams went in that direction of skilled bigs and if skilled bigs were being developed young. Ahead of his time for sure.
Blazers made two finals appearances...Could you imagine what could have happened with this guy in his prime?
I saw Sabonis play when he was young in Europe and he was unstoppable... the best center I've ever seen. .
Better than Jokic ?
If Sabonis was allowed to come in the NBA that would have been 1985/86. Sadly, he went 10 years later injury prone. At that time, European championship cup (predecessor of Euro league) was very tough: Zhalgiris, Cibona/Jugoplastika, Macabi, Real /Barcelona, Milano, Aris/Panathinaikos were and still are very respectable clubs with players like D.Petrovic, Galis, O. Schmidt, Bob Mcadoo, Menegin. All in all, good times watching basketball in the 1980'.
🇨🇦 here, great content dawg, been watching as I work in garage...I know your era of players...been a pleasure...big up son! One
Another big man that’s VERY underrated was Rik Smits!
So true Baloo. Sometimes the pioneers pave the way for others but seem to get overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Although Smits was certainly a name.
@@roderickcampbell2105 Smits and Davis PROBLEMS !
This is definitely the best father/son duo in NBA history
What would the other candidates be? Dell / Stephen shouldn't be overlooked.
Thank you so much for your content. It’s incredible. You teach master classes.
Sabo nis and Walton are the 2 biggest what ifs at center ever.
Walton is not in Sabonis league
@@joweydelanota7421 he could be. That man win 6th man of the year with messed up knee as a center.
@@joweydelanota7421 Prime Walton is absolutely in that league, and pre-dates Sabonis by a decade
@@Barnabus007 Bill Walton was never the player Sabonis was.
In Walton's own words:
"You might as well just rewrite the rules of basketball after watching him play in the first half. He could do everything. He had the skills of Larry Bird and Pete Maravich. He had the athleticism of Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], and he could shoot the 3-point shot. He could pass, run the floor, dribble. We should have carried out a plan in the early 1980s to kidnap him and bring him back right then."
Walton played unselfishly being unselfish doesn't make you elite in the areas Sabonis was light years better than Walton. Prime Sabonis would have been a nightmare matchup for prime Walton that has great Sabonis was before he fucked his Achilles 3x and his knees no longer allowed him to be mobile.
@@joweydelanota7421 I respectfully disagree with you. I don't think anything you are saying is necessarily wrong and I don't want to put words in your mouth. The fact Walton praised Sabonis does prove anything, but I do get the praise. I love Sabonis. It is important to remember 1st off Walton is like 10-12 years older than Sabonis and possibly influenced his play. The difference in training methods, nutrition, and equipment had progressed in the decade or so between the two. It is also important to note that by the time Walton had (arguably) his best two seasons he had already had a bunch of injuries, and his athleticism was already compromised to the point he was neve close to the same. Sabonis did shoot 3's unlike Walton, but again, it was already becoming a different game. I would probably pick prime Sabonis over prime Walton, but it isn't a landslide. I'm not saying YOU said this or dispute it, but the major flaw to the players from the past being able to compete with players that came years later is they seem to forget the concept that all the "older" players, if they came to the present, would have better accommodations, nutrition, training methods , the benefit of learning from the past, less intense schedules, more offensive friendly rules, etc. Sorry for the rant lol...I love Sabonis, but I think people forget or don't know how great Walton was because of how short his peak was..in the end it is a shame neither got to play at least a few more somewhat healthy seasons.
One of my favorite things to do late at night is watch your videos. Awesome stuff!
I can’t believe you covered this guy 🤯… Amazing!!!! I didn’t know his story. I’m seeing him do stuff in his prime that I not ever saw him do in Portland.
Great content !
Love your channel, please give us more old school bball stories like this
Peace
Agreed Marcel. I haven't seen a "story" that I did not love. Especially on players that don't get too much attention.
Love your videos. Greetings from Zagreb, Croatia.
And he still played well in the NBA at that age. And now his son is continuing the Sabonis legacy. As a father, id be happy just knowing i made a better life for my kids. He has got to be so darn proud of his kid.
I was a huge Drexler fan and dreamed of what it could have been like to have him as their number one center, with a fresh Duckworth coming off the bench. Kersey, Cliff Robinson and Terry Porter. That'd have been team people feared. I loved hearing the great Snapper talking about Sabonis (and anything else really)
yeah, the Snapper.. I miss him
This guy Sabonis was amazing. I loved seeing him play in Portland. It was a bit of a travesty that we didn’t see him in his prime.
That’s why I enjoy seeing Jokic play because he reminds me of the way Arvydas Sabonis.
Bro thanks for this, I’ve been a fan of his forever.
Really enjoy these new kinds of videos of the under the radar guys!
Great vid, great channel. Thank you! 😎
Great video Shaun! Sabas was such a beast! He would have changed the NBA landscape in the late 80's and the entire 1990's for sure. The Soviet National Team is to blame for all of his injuries. They never let him rest and made him play through his injuries in the Olympics, World Games, and more. If he could have come over in '85 with the Hawks, or '86 with the Blazers, a lot of his injuries could have been prevented.
Nevertheless, he was a fantastic NBA player during his seven years in the league.
You can really see Domantas in that younger face of Arvydas😂
I remember that, when I was growing up in Greece, everybody was talking about how great Sabonis was! And then injuries started piling up, plus the Cold War situation didn't help either! In the mid 90s Dusan Ivkovic (RIP) said that if Sabonis had stayed healthy we wouldn't be talking about Hakeem Olajuwon as the greatest center! Sabonis was that good! If he had been born in let's say in 2004, he probably woulda been the no 1 draft pick!
not injuries fault, just ussr health system that ruined him.
@@AntanPavarden NO, achilles inujries up to this day are risky, and take a long time to heal from. He fell from the stairs the first time, 3 achilles injuries are devastating, its a miracle he still played.
@@AntanPavarden he had big injuries since he was 21.... You can't really predict an acl tear... After that one it may be the poor management and nurturing of the injuries....
@@smokescreenOG no? inappropriate treatment its not factor?
@@Shiljamannn from start it was poor management and nurtuning..
He was the joker before the joker. Great video. One of my favorite bigs of all time.
Yo Sabas himself said in one of interwievs, that he wasnt afraid of MJ... he was afraid of Hakeem "crazy african dream" Olajuwon
Great video, thanks. I'm a huge Jokic fan and I can see how Sabonis was doing all that years ago.
You usually can't trust a guy with 2 first names. Love the content. Keep it up, my guy!
I met Sabonis few times in the 80's while his team Żalgiris played against CSKA club form Moscow where i studied.. we sat on the bench together with all the team Kurtinaitis, Chomićus etc and the coach Garastas ...at that time it was easy to approach players and the most fun of it was to be recognized welcomed and hugged next round by them.
Waldemaras Chomićus pleased me with his good command of the polish language learned from his Polish grandfather however being a student of the russian faculty i could talk with all of the team in russian .
Sabonis was not very talkative however never missed high five nor a greet .
A group of the polish students was known for their Żalgiris support at the CSKA premises at that time .
Sabonis was one of the most important players ever. God bless you Arvydas.
Have you done Bill Walton yet? I wanna learn more on him too. I just recently found your channel, I'm loving it brotha keep up the good work
Sabonis was my favorite Portland player back then. It's unfortunate they got him already worn out but still was a great player even with bad knees. Another what if along with Oscar Schmidt.
Pre-injury Sabonis was really athletic for his size.
I feel blessed to have been in Portland and experienced his playing days here.
I haven't heard snapper Steve Jones voice in years brings me back to my teens :) SAb should have came over in the 80s when portland drafted him
He and Petro were in a league of their own. Long time european basketball fans... we know it.
Sabonis is definitely a "what-could-have-been" if he came into the league earlier or started the NBA after he was drafted. As we're seeing Jokic play, Arvydas was the first Euro big in the NBA possessing a great passing ability and shooting ability, though it was for a short time in NBA. I definitely enjoyed watching him play and be one of the influential Euro/international players in the 90s.
Ever heard of Divac?
As Ream Madrid fan, Sabonis made us enjoy for a decade of absolute dominance and beautiful basketball. It’s the kind of player all youngsters must look up to learn fundamentals. My first idol!!
He was Jokic of the 90 s. Only back then Euro players didn t had status they have today. Petrovic Kukoc Radja and co.
All of those players walked so Luka could run
No. Joker & Luka are what Arvydas Sabonis was in the 80’s and 90’s… PERIOD.💯 Dirk too.
@@jasonpeterson8 Jokic is astronomicaly better
@@milosjovicevic6083 At drinking liters of cola.
Don’t forget Vlade Divac, especially when he was playing with Magic Johnson in the early 90s
No knock on Duckworth (R.I.P), but if the Blazers had gotten Arvydas over here sooner, they may very well have won a couple of chips....
Imagine if a prime Arvydas was teamed up with Damian Lillard 🤯In all seriousness he was the first center I can recall as a child that big shooting threes. It was unheard of at the time. 😂
Sabonis was 35 in '99 and wrecked by injuries. Even then he was great. Him at 25 could probably have been MVP in 89 (Magic didn't even beat Barkley by much that year)
One of my favorite historical players
He is one of the all time best players in Basketball for sure. I personally always count every game outside NBA also to players career.
I love the way people would just move out of his way in fear.
I met Sabonis as a kid. I will never forget his hands and his smile when we cheered our team for winning that bronze in 1992. I grew up watching him and Zalgiris play and it was a big time for our struggle against Soviets. It was our torch to freedom. Sabobis is more than just a basketball player for my generation.
I’m glad I stumbled across this. 1 of the few CZcamsrs who let’s the video be about the subject n not about themselves
We never got to see Sabonis in his prime in the NBA, but he lives today in prime-form through Nikola Jokic 🔥
I remember this dude! He was very nice player uncanny passing ability for a man his size. And he was a giant who shot threes. Me dropped and amazing dime every time.
It's awesome to see the rest of the world compete at a high level in basketball now. The game has never been better!
Sabonis is my favorite player of all time. He's the reason I always picked #11 every chance i got. Prime Sabas was like Jokic, but 2-3 times as athletic. He was a monster. Wish he would've been able to come to Portland in 86 instead of 95
You are a leader in the NBA old school & insight, thank you for your time & effort!
I believe it was Stuart Scott who used to say "he's not your vydas he's not my vydas he's our vydas Sabobnis" haha. Back in sportscaster glory days I used to watch it multiple time a day it aas so good. Glad to see his son finally become an all star
I watched Hakeem try to post Sabonis in their first match up and he couldn't move him at all. Sabonis just raised his arms and contested every shot
There are a lot of FIBA guys I wish made it to the NBA. The transition was massive in the 80s, when it started, and shrank to where good European, Australian or where ever players an come in and impact off the bat. I don't think you took a look at Dejan Bodiroga, 90s and early 00s. Maybe you'll find it well worth your time. Thanks for the great content - am happy to see the channel grow :)
As a basketball fan, I watched Sabonis at Portland and I wished I could have seen him at his prime. The NBA was deprived of a legend.
here in europe, we were lucky to see him a lot in his prime, he was something else, it´s a shame that he went to the nba when his knees were already blown, he was a beast, he would´ve been the best for sure if he arrived in his prime, absolut legend, incredible shooter and passer.
Mr. Sabonis ❤ Great in the 80s, 90s, now. Kind of diferent Arvidas, but still the same. Amazing 🎉
Uffff… him and the Yugo teams derbis. Aghhhhh :)
Sabonis in his Prime was a Beast .
When he entered the League he was already Old ,but still a supreme Player .
Like Grant Hill said ,he played kind of like Jokic nowadays
Might have changed history for a few teams Dynasties had he joined Clyde and the Blazers in his prime.
I first caught wind of Sabonis as a kid during the 1992 Olympics when the Grateful Dead sponsored Team Lithuania (who won Bronze) with tie-dyed jerseys and gear. I then heard Bill Walton tell gushing tales about him playing in Europe: "He'd have 30 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists... and it was still the first half!"
Basically, if Sabonis made it to the NBA before the USSR coach (seemingly deliberately) pushed him into injuries, I think we would be seeing a top 10 all time player (not just top 10 center). He's a 7'3" version of Joker who did all the little things 10-20% better than Nikola... can you imagine a 7'3" Larry Bird??
I gotta think some combination of Cold War politics, the bias and bigotry NBA coaches and players had against European players (that really lasted until 2001-ish), and seeing Drazen Petrovic unfairly buried by the Portland Trailblazers for years, influenced Sabas not to join the NBA until well past his prime. And we still saw brilliant flashes of his style: truly one of basketball's greatest What Ifs.
that and he said himself that he didn't have an offer from the blazers pretty much untill he got a contract in 1995. theoretically he could of joined in 1989, along with players like divac, marciulionis and volkov.
Surprised that no one made a comparison to Bill Walton, who before his knee injuries, had All of the same skills. Not as big, but I would have loved to seen the two of them go at it in the late '70s.
When you're a HOF'er in two different countries, you pretty good! Loved watching Sabonis in Portland.
I saw Sabonis live with healthy knees. In 1989, Zalgiris - RTI in the USSR Championship. I even took pictures...
If Sabonas had come 10 years earlier, it is totally possible.
Great POV again, thank you.
N.B.A. Live 2001 I used him and Portland went 74-8 clean sweep to a championship
Drexler, Sabonis, Petrovic, Robinson
1990 NBA Champions !!!!
I remember being a kid and seeing this dude with a kareem like sky hook and insane passes. It's a shame he didn't get to the NBA younger and have a long career. He had talent
I was a huge Rockets fan as a kid. And hated when we played Portland lol. Sabonis was the one dude that could give Dream problems.
I remember this guy.. legend in his own right
The only memories I have of him were when he was just about to retire and trying to contain a Prime Shaq on the Lakers
A unique player at the time. Saw him play against Indiana University back in the day and couldn't believe his skill set on such a big guy.
People who only saw him when he came to Portland have no idea what he actually was when he was young without roling that beautiful bean footage of the 80s
The first NBA game I ever went to was when he was in Portland. His was also the very first jersey I ever had. Wish I still had it.
good vid bro
Imagine Antony Davis with better fundamentals and insane passing skils,and little better shooting.. That is young Sabonis was...
It really sucks that we never got to see him flourish in his prime, which is sad. But on the upside he did make it to the NBA in time to make a ton of money and have his son benefit from the training and college basketball system in the USA and Damantis is a 3 time all-star and a starter this year. So it has a happy ending for his family.
domantas was born in portland, during playoffs
Sabonis fosse nato in un periodo non sovietico sarebbe stato sicuramente il Centro piu forte di tutti i tempi...e per me lo è comunque...
Sabonis my favorite european player..He was so good in Europe. He was Magic.. USA had Earwin, Europe had Arvydas. It's a shame that he went so late in the NBA. In his prime Portland would have won a ring..Damn knees😢😢
If prime Wilt and Magic did a DBZ fusion, you would get Sabonis
..been sayin this for decades so thank you for the confirmation