Arvydas Sabonis Should've Came to the NBA Sooner, But...Why Not? 

At least his son is doing great. Domantas really doing his dad's name justice. Its sad he couldnt play in the nba, surely would have been one of the greats.

Imagine prime Clyde Drexler and prime Sabonis playing togheter

Sabonis: My achilles are torn. CCCP: OUR achilles

Just to put some context: His first torn achilles injury, a career-ending one, happened in 1986, at age 21. And when he was in rehab, he fell downstairs at home, in a quite dubious incident. Then he stopped playing for 18 months, coming back in time to win the Olympics! He was 23, and already severely injured. So most "prime Sabas footage" is actually that of a seriously diminished player. There never was a prime, healthy, 25/28 years old Sabonis. Had Sabas and his body been treated fairly in his URSS years, he would have been a top 10 player ever. That I don´t have a doubt in my mind, nor anyone who watched him playing in the mid 80´s.

Arvydas today would be a combination of Jokic and Porzingis, and his son Domantas. He was big, strong, athletic, high IQ, good shooter, passer, dominated the boards. A hell of a player

God this is painful. The part you left out is that if Sabonis came to the NBA when he was supposed to HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON CLYDE DREXLER'S BLAZERS. Think about that. Clyde's Blazers were one piece away from a dynasty, a big hole at center. If sabonis came to the NBA when he should have, 90's would have been blazers era. It's interesting to think mj's legacy might be totally different based off this one what if alone.

Arvydas was a unique and special talent for sure.

In case anyone wonders about the 1992 Lithuanian jerseys: The team had no money and it was unclear if they could even afford traveling to the Olympics In the end they managed to get 'The Grateful Dead' (Yes, the band) to sponsor them and they ended up playing with this super-colorful jersey with a Grateful Dead logo on it. Very cool story.

He is taller Jokic before Jokic, or should I say, Jokic is shorter Sabonis 2.0

And he won Euroleague MVP at 40 years old, playing last season of his career. Really impressive. And... great video ;]

One of the most underrated players to ever play the game it was a shame we never got to see his whole prime in the NBA

Omg i can't believe you made about Arvydas Sabonis, any lithuanians?🇱🇹

When Sabonis finished playing in Nba he still played one more season in Kauno Zalgiris, his first team. He was voted the MVP of Euroleague that year at the age of 40!

The political interests are the problem in sports for a long time, Sabonis was in the 80s in the terrible position

You can’t teach size and the guy was a legit 7’3 and not lanky. Imagine if he came into the NBA today as a 19 year old with world class training, medical staff, and equipment.

Andy ur literally only one of the basketball youtubers that pronounce players and clubs names correctly you either do a good research which is extremely easy to do or just are good at it lol either way I like that you take your channel videos professionally I always disliked how other ball youtubers doing videos about Doncic or other European player starts by saying "I will be pronouncing it really wrong but whatever bro here it goes" damn if u do videos like this take the time to google the pronouncation of players...

Well at least his son looks promising.

I saw him playing in Europe during the 80s' and he was unbelievable, he practically could do everything on the court

When you hear those trumpets... Andy has produced another masterpiece and will be one step closer to 500k. Thanks Andy

He was a very good center. So sad that the injuries destroyed his career.

Been listening to Andy for years and I still cant believe he only has 300k subs. This guy deserves millions of subscribers for giving us quality contents

That's why Sabonis is Yao Ming's favorite idol.

He would have been an All Star in the NBA had he started his career in the league in 86. I think anybody who knows basketball and saw him play back then wouldn’t deny that.

Blazers could have had Jordan and sabonis alongside drexler. Oh my god.

Sabonis was Magic + Wilt + Bird. Passing, athletic dominance, and shooting. He was a better Jokic + Luka + Porzingis in one package.

I remember watching this guy in the 1986 World Championships. Dude was 7'3" and could do it all. He could bang down low, post up, take it to the hole, and could even knock it down from anywhere on the court, even beyond the arc. To say nothing of the fact he could pass like a point guard. If he had been allowed to play in the NBA in his prime, he could have arguably been one of the greatest, if not the greatest, center ever. Oh, and one of the few players in the NBA who never backed down from Shaq, ever.

He's not MYvydis, he's not YOURvydis...he's Arvydis! - old Sportscenter anchor Craig Kilborn*

His greatness is slept on. I will never forget his playoff series battle against the Lakers in the year 2000. He played for Portland TrailBlazers and lost that series but it was practically the NBA championship because the Eastern Conference was not going to win the finals against either team in my opinion. Kobe and Shaq made one of the greatest comebacks ever in game 7. His game was the truth.

Sheesh he would’ve been crazy if he came over at 21 😭

I appreciate you doing a video on Sabonis. IMO, Sabonis had, and still has, the most underrated and unappreciated career in NBA history and overseas. Growing up in this era, i witnessed Sabonis put in work night after night. He had mind-boggling talent that you didn’t see from bigs back then. Nowadays, bigs with a similar skillset as Sabonis are a dime a dozen. Sabonis was ahead of his time. The numbers and his overall game just didn't make sense for a big in that era. He was an anomaly. He's Jokic before Jokic. He was, and still is, one of my favorite players. Off topic, @5:35, does anyone else think him and Steven Adams looked alike? 🤔

Amazing video! Sabonis is one of my all-time favourite players. I still think he is massively under appreciated and I try to put so many people on to him! Jokic before Jokic but 7'3 and way more athletic in his prime! Watched an NBA TV special where Brian Shaw (who played against him in 1986 on the US Team) said that he was just as athletic as David Robinson and that's who Sabonis was facing! Truly fascinated with Sabonis' game, he really was the orignial unicorn! Insane how far ahead of its time his game was! He would fit perfectly into any NBA roster! AMAZING video once again!

Got goosebumps when I saw all his accomplishments. It's so sad to hear the things that happened to him. I still can't believe he's destroying his competition despite suffering from his previous injuries. Truly a legend.

Thanks Andy for the video, Im Lithuanian and I love your videos, Sabonis is a legend

I remember him in Portland. Great passer at the Center position. Could've been the first Jokic

Brilliant video, thank you so much. I was blessed to have watched him in the early 1990s, he was a beast at both ends of the court, but a calming figure too. Lee 🇬🇧

I love those scenes of him passing in the post. Great ability. Thanks for this video.

He was one of the few guys in the NBA who could legitimately match up with Shaq.

He was always our hero!! We were as glued to our TV screens when Sabuonis was playing for USSR team or Lithuania (before he went to paly for NBA). We knew in our hearts he was always playing for Lithuania - yes it was before Lituania gaining independence and it was an important issue for all of us. I was witching and fallowing Zalgiris since I was a little girl (now 43) I’m from Latvia with Lithuanian roots. Sabuonis is part of my and my brother’s childhood and he will always remain our hero, we were so proud of him!! And are for all the hard work he has put in to his game! He didn’t have it easy for sure, knowing the USSR style of treating people, sportsman and politics behind the scenes... Tebegyvuoja Žalgiris! Tebegyvuoja Sabuonis! ( Long live Žalgiris, Long live Sabuonis in Lithuanian) :) A fan from Riga, Latvia.

Aww hell yea dude. Soon as I clicked I seen its one of my fav Euro players ever and I been wishing someone would do a vid on sabonis. Big propps!!

politics ruined his nba career , sad to see

What a great video! As a Lithuanian, i can say that you got all the facts right. Sabonis is very underrated player, not many people know how good he was before all the injuries

If he made it to the league earlier when he was younger. This guy would of been a top 5 big ever for sure. A 7”3 300 pound athletic monster. He Could pass shoot,jump,run,block, dribble and a amazing defender. How do I know this? My great grandfather played basketball in Europe and played against the man once. He said he was the greatest player he had ever seen.

Wow. What a quality video. Thank you so much Andy hoops!

Andy love your videos man, i think you cover the right subjects and ask the right questions, its not a generic hoops doc. Thanks for doing now if we had him in Portland with that 90s team things may have been different.

Always wondered this. Dude was remarkable. Had it all. Ran like a deer. Skills. Smarts. Great passer. Even when he was physically done and came to the NBA he was great. Wish we could have seen him at his prime. So fun to watch.

Love from Lithuania

I am so happy that you done this video

this is why andy is my favorite basketball youtuber

Those trumpets , u know it’s gonna be an amazing video when Andy does those

When I first heard about this guy, I was wishing he came over sooner cause he would of been a beast in the NBA.

One of my favorite centers and what if nba stories. Good work man

Thank you Andy for covering dudes like this, I been waiting for a arvydas sabonis video

Domantas sabonis is now an all star and I personally think he is going to be a perennial all star.

Put it like this, Sabonis is one of the reasons there was a Dream Team in 1992.

Great video. Thanks, and best wishes from Lithuania

I was really surprised when my friend from Philippines, who is a bit older generation, knows Arvydas Sabonis as a player. This just goes on to show that Arvydas was a phenom and the whole world knew him.

I saw him dominate the best NBA big men before his injuries. What a shame he didn’t get to NBA while he was young and healthy. Best ever

Whenever I think of Arvydas I always remember the time when Rasheed threw a towel in his face during a timeout lol

Thank you for everything you do for us

Dude this is an awesome video!

Blazers are the Kings of “what ifs” arvydas, bias, Roy, oden, bill walton(injuries)

The way he got described by coaches and analysts, It sounds like he was more athletic version of Jokic before Jokic came around

I never get tired of Sabonis "what if" videos great video as always.

Great video !!!!

We were robbed of a generational talent but he still did great and his son is a beast.

Might have been the most talented player ever.

I saw him in the olympics 88. I still remember his skills. Amazing. Great video, thanks

Sabonis is my hero !!! great video, very interesting to watch, thanks. Best wishes from Lithuania.

I think he came over at age 33. Kind of like some of the baseball players from Japan that come over to the US later in their career.

Sobonis Could have been a the best center in history of nba

Great commentary and not many people are going to appreciate this " What if " along with Len Bias, he could do everything for a big man. Skills wise he was the truth but many injuries to his legs stopped him from being able to show NBA fans what he represented in his early career.

Great video! I’m a newer fan of basketball (obsessed for four or so years now) and your videos are a great history lesson!

Hall of Famer

Sabonis was one of the best basketball players ever. He would dominate NBA at his prime if..

Thanks for the video. I am from Lithuania and this video means a lot for me and my whole country. It's just really sad, because he got boo'ed off just because he was considered to be from SSRS and not Lithuania!

I’ve been waiting for this

Could you imagine watching a prime Olajuwon vs Sabonis

He legit could’ve been top 10 all time if he started in the NBA

Great video today keep it up your doing amazing job

Absolutely one of biggest what if’s in NBA history. Could have had a huge legacy and really shaken up the late 80’s/ early 90’s.

I wasnt fortunate to watch him on his prime, I Saw him on Madrid, a 7 foot 3 slow Monster playing point guard and raining 3s. He was so dominate on Spain It was ridiculuous. He and Drazen Petrovic are the greatest European players ever, unfortunately the world (NBA) didnt see them. Respect to Dirk and Pau, but jeez, Sabonis was crazy good

Sabonis is in top 10 centers of all time

Great video.

Thank you for this video you made my day. Greetings from Lithuania

Waited for this vid, woulda been top 5 center all time imo he woulda had the chips and accomplishments but on top of that greatest skillset for big man ever- Biggest what if nba history

PLEASE IVE BEEN ASKING FOR YEARS PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT RON ARTEST AKA METTA WORLD PEACE

I was waiting for this one

I gotta acknowledge that you know your stuff man. Good to see a video about arvydas. Most nba youtubers are not so deep with their knowledge or have the interest to know.He was one of the first Europeans who opened the way for others to come in the league. Could you make a video about Nick Gallis at some point? He was and still is the greatest Greek bball player and was set to play for Celtics but he was injured and let go. Auerbach has said that letting him go was his only big mistake ever.

The biggest "What if?" in NBA is if Oscar Schmit had come to play in the NBA

Can you do how good was Ron Artest? Or Jermaine O’Neal Jason Kidd? 90s Knicks?

You in my opinion are the best basketball youtuber

Remember getting a chance to watch him play the Hornets at the Rose Garden once and was amazed by his shooting and deft passing.

"...lived in obscurity until he was fifteen years-old." What a loser. I was making power moves by the time I was a pre-teen.

As a lithuanian i must say there is some conspiracy theories and lies in this video. It wasnt just sabonis who had insane schedules and hardcore training, whole european basketball was like that back in 70s 80s, countless injuries happened cause of that to many stars back then, yugoslavians included. No one threatened sabonis or his family cause of blazzers, it was cold war and both sides had insane propaganda about other side and that mixed over decades and now we have idiotic conspiracy theories about it. Gomelsky was greatest coach in history in europe, and sabonis was stubborn himself to play, yes after his achiles injury they should have healed him more, but 88 olympics were very important and no one wanted to miss it for anything. For his size its a miracle that his legs held for that long even after both legs acl injuries. Look at today big players in nba, countless injuries even with modern training and modern medicine... while back in 80s there was barely any of that. Also i dont recall him saying all those bad things about ussr and moscow team, he was respected and well known all around ussr, has multiple awards that would not have been given to some western spy or person who dont love his country and tries to run away... We can only dream what he would become in ideal utopic world where 221 cm player has no injury in his career and cold war dont exist. What i agree and most basketball fans should agree, that sabonis is one of best players in history of this sport and biggest " WHAT IF" ever.

Its so funny because last month I thought about him a bit and was looking for videos of how good he was in his prime. And I instantly thought to look you up first but you hadnt had a video of him yet.

It’s a real shame we couldn’t see prime Sabonis in the nba, at least we have domontas

Cold war... This thing just ruined maybe one of the best career for all the time. This is a main reason, why political problems shouldn't take a place in sport. (Sorry for mistakes, I speak russian)

"What if"?? He was one of the best basketball player in the world EVER, he won everything with national team ,euroleague! There's game of basketball outside NBA, you know

thsi video should have been made years ago but still so happy to see this

I was searching up the song in your videos and this video was like the 3rd result