Sabonis (old, with two practically broken legs) came to America, where the best basketball players play, during the most competitive era, and held his own, against prime Shaq who is considered a top 3 center all time, taking the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, a top 5 player all time, to game 7 of the WCF. Then he went back to Europe and was voted MVP in his final season as a basketball player at age 40. Even as a shell of his former self, to the very end, he was great.
If he had a relatively healthy let's say 17 year career in the nba i think he'd be the goat hands down...it's an "if" ofc but there was nothing he wasn't excellent at. Shooting (from all over), post up, rebounding, defense, passing, iq, handles, footwork, leadership (his teammates loved him), clutch... Then like you said even with no knees/damaged achilles', back problems & a shell of his prime self in his late 30's he put up 15 & 9 every night vs prime shaq, the admiral, dream, ewing etc.
7 foot 4, with legitimate athleticism, shot blocking instincts, strength like shaq, jumper like Dirk, passing like Bird or Magic. He’s like the dream player.
@@coops1992 lol? you are retarded, but its fine i guess if you are american, as you have seen him only after his prime and without legs already. Domas has a bit of his father, but his fathers prime is not reachable for him because hes playing similar, but lets say 27y old Domas is playing like 37y old Arvydas without legs.
I'm from Portland. I saw Sabonis a play a few times when I was a kid. He was huge and the best passing center I've ever seen. His hands were so massive they wrapped around the ball like a grape fruit but he had the touch of a point guard. No one who has ever played had the physical ability to pass like him, he was a freak of nature like a goliath. I think he is up there with the great centers like Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, Russell. He was old and slow by the time he got to the Blazers although it was still a treasure to have him just like we have Carmelo now in his golden years. Portland is like the retirement before retirement for some of the greats, Pippen played here to and was good for us. Maybe it's like a reversal for bad picks we've had like Bowie over Jordan and Greg Oden over Durant.
I was an '80 baby and grew up in Portland watching Clyde. Later, after moving, watched Wallace, Bonzi, and Sabonis lead the Blazers to the western finals (cough: nba finals) against the Lakers. When Sabonis was in the game Portland surged ahead. When he sat, Portland didn't know how to score. Without moving, Sabonis was the most critical piece to Portland scoring. Amazing. Wish I could have seen him when he could move.
Great point. He changed the court for sure because he could drain 15 footers all day long which would draw the other team's center out. Now days everybody can shoot, but back then he was the only big man that could reliably.
@@TheSands83 Just imagine they had him in the finals of 1990? or even in 1992? Do you think the outcome would have been different? As someone who saw him at an early age I can tell you that back then he could jump , block and still had the same game intelligence you saw from him in the NBA although his 3 point shot was not that great at the time.
There's been really only like 4 centers that have given Shaq trouble: 1. Hakeem 2. Yao (though he kind of figured him out after the first matchup) 3. Rick Smits 4. Sabonis Aside from Hakeem (who really didn't "Stop" Shaq and also didn't have a chance to guard Lakers Shaw in his prime), all those guys that gave Shaq trouble were 7'3" and taller, but also weren't lanky like a Shawn Bradley. They were guys that were north of 250lbs, longer than Shaq, and were fairly strong. Smits and Yao were both in their primes and honestly, old Sabonis played him better than those two did. I'm half Lithuanian and a Lakers fan, so I'm proud to have seen that Sabonis at that age keep Shaq from being an unstoppable beast. If he was younger, I really think Portland takes that series as Shaq would have had way more problems against a younger Sabonis and I doubt Sabonis would have been in as much foul trouble as well (Shaq was still too quick for him. It was more of Shaq's quickness that caused Sabonis issues than it was his strength).
@@raulpablos4578 Robinson was a great player, too, an original Dream Teamer. Spare highlights don't make someone God or useless (not referring to Sabonis, of course).
Young Avydas was nasty, really nasty. Not only he could score in every way, but he had mad passing skills and he was strong as an ox. He instilled fear to the other centers!
35 years 2 broken leggi down 3-1 in the CF against Kobe and Shaq trained by Phil Jackson and he forced Lakers to game 7 leading of 12 points at the beginning of the 4th quarter. 3 Olympic medals,European Champion and Euroleague Mvp(he was 40 years) and Champion. I think that he is one of the most underrated players of all time
My first basketball game on a stadium was in Valencia, I think around year 89 or 90. The game was a Valencia-Valladolid (his first club outside the URSS, because after 86 big injury nobody thought he was going to be a great player). Watching him dominating the game was an absolute shock for everybody. He initiated the game as a PG, he moved with elegance and he passed with the vision of a great game director. Of course, he was a nightmare for the tallest men of Valencia Basket Club. Bill Russel, the Big Russ, a living legend, stated that he could have been one of the greatest centers ever if he hadn't had injuries. I will not speak about rankings: watching him play was absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing, I insist.
Chauncey Billups said on ESPN few months about how Jokic and Sabonis are similar, in one way, yes, both of the players had perfect court vision, passing talent, soft hand not just around the rim, but also from deep and 3-point range. But he said after that "neither guy could jump over a piece of paper or could run". But really that is not true, if you see just some of this highlights from this video or you find a little bit more of him in his prime years in Europe, you'll see how actually he was athletic, he was strong and tough by nature, and that he wasn't from a physical standpoint similar or same as Jokic. Jokic never could dunk behind the head, or block three times opposing center from paint, or dunk on David Robinson. I am pretty sure that Chauncey nor Paul Pirce nor Jalen Rose (they were in the studio ) ever seen some footage of Sabonis beside NBA when he was in his late years, way later from his prime. Yes, I'm sure 100% that Sabonis would be one of the best, but REALLY one of the best centers in the history of NBA and world if he played from the beginning in NBA, but that's another story. I just wanted to emphasize how these commentators on studio even if they were professional players, many times don't know really about some players. And I'm from Serbia, and I think that in some areas like creativity, ball handling, and some other technical details Jokic is better than Sabonis. But Sabonis never was in physical aspect like Jokic he was way stronger, and he could jump more than Jokic in every situation. When they maybe watched Sabonis in Portland he was in his late years, after many injuries. (But even then he was fighting against Shaq, and was a dominant player.) And your comment is accurate! Best regards from Serbia :)
@@duloo97 yes, you are spot on! NBA payers judge Sabonis for what he did just in the NBA. He was very athletic and in great physical shape before Soviets forced him to play through injuries and destroyed his ligaments. He was 31 yo when he came to the NBA but his tendons were those of a 40 year old, so he played below the rim and relied on his IQ and court vision and size. Jokic shares Sabonis' court vision and size and IQ but is young and healthy but just not naturally athletic. I hope Jokic has a long and successful career in the NBA - I predict an MVP and a potential for rings. Good luck!
@@ilicdjo he was overweight by the time he got into the NBA.. he if you look at his footage as a younger player for USSR, before injuries, he was fairly lean. Yeah, I think Robinson is 7'1 and Sabonis is 7'3.
one time a doctor looked at an Xray of his ankles (multiple fractures, past and present) and said "this man cannot be walking"... he was going through the NBA season playing back to backs
@@johnybee8261 it has nothing to do with Soviet doctors lol he was going up the steps that were cracked and thats were tore his achilles ... I know that for a fact he told that in his documentary...
@@almukas but they probably forced him to play instead of proper rehab. everyone thinks that the soviet officials demanded he play and the doctors eventually cleared him even though they knew he was injured and playing would cause long term damage.
Para mi el mejor jugador de baloncesto que a visto mis ojos, si sabonis no hubiera tenido la lesión y se hubiera ido a la NBA con 22 años no hubiera existido un jugador que le hubiera hecho sombra.
Сабонис красава!Помню как играя во дворе,я уже тогда слыхал его имя!А это мне было 8 лет.В 1986 году.Литовский "Жальгирис" рулит!!!А еще были Бразаускас и Куртинайтис кажется...
@@sekainiheiwa3650 stfu, nobody cares if you’re jealous of the Nba ffs 🤦🏻♂️ why tf you think Sabonis went to finish his career in the NBA instead of some piss poor euro league. Why do you think that every players dream in a foreign league is to make it big in the NBA. I guarantee Sabonis had regrets about not going NBA sooner.
@@VD1350 he was old, the man said the NBA was too physically and mentally draining at that point. Which is exactly why he would’ve loved to have been able to play from a young age
I've never seen 8/10 of those highlights so thanks for uploading.Sabonis when healthy was just too dominant and it's sad he came later in his career to the NBA he had the best intangibles of anyone ALL TIME
those poor usa players on this highlights. sabas was something else before injuries and he was good enough to be better than most in nba after the injuries.
Sabonis was 20 years ahead of his time. Shooting 3s and making passes. The reason for that is because when Sabonis was very young, he trained as a point guard but then experienced this crazy growth spurt
@epics7 nice to know. Thanks for sharing Edit: I watched Sampson's highlights. He was more like an athletic lengthy big like Kristaps Porzingis. Also very skinny. Sabonis was much heavier, like Shaq but could pass and could shoot 3s
The player really responsible for changing the way big men played the game was Kresimir Cosic who played for BYU but didn't want to play in the NBA because they were not ready for a 6'11" player bringing the ball down court on fast breaks. He became the Yugoslavian coach and changed he way they played in Europe first which soon was followed by the NBA.
Pero no le dejaron y luego vino la lesión, una pena . Aun así dominó Europa y luego lo hizo muy bien en NBA .Nada que envidiar a la grandes centers de la época
Desde luego, lo vi jugar desde que apareció en la selección sovietica con 17 años, con 2,20 hacia lo que le daba la gana, se movia como si midiera 2 metros, pase, tiro de media y larga distancia, un fenómeno
@@markufer4418 Como si midiese 1'80. Era una exageración, un talento puro acompañado de un cuerpo de ciencia ficción. Fíjate que ya convertido en un tío sin movilidad seguía siendo el mejor pivot pasador. Una pasada.
@Roger Martin Jabbar would have had a real problem with Sabonis in his prime. Jabbar always had trouble with Eaton when he was on him defensively. Eaton was just a very tall space eater who did not have any mobility. Yet his sheer size and strength bothered Jabbar. Sabonis had the size, more strength and mobility than Eaton. Jabbar was not a strong player and he would have ended up in the stands just like Robinson did. Jabbar never had to face a guy the size of Sabonis with his mobility and skill set. We need to remember Dawkins was only 6'10" as was Bob Lanier who was considered a giant in that era. He never had to face a 7'3" player who was as mobile and physically strong as Sabonis.
Basketball is a game of matchups and Sabonis would have been a matchup nightmare for Jabbar. The player who would have matched up best with Sabonis was Hakeem Oligewan. That would have been an interesting contest. Jabbar had a hard enough time matching up with Bill and Sabonis in his prime was more skilled, 4inches taller and much stronger.
@@WILTALK little Hakeem Olajuwon would have all kind of troubles with Sabonis, the same way he had troubles with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when they tried to let little Hakeem guard Kareem one on one. Little Hakeem is not a real 7-footer. He's not even six foot ten.
@@WILTALK Kareem was deceptively strong. Dont let his thin body type fool you. Also, he faced an older Wilt, and in those battles, I'd give Kareem a slight edge.
Only the old man sabonis footage matters because Euroleague NBA in the 1980s was absolute garbage. That's why that other white guy who only played over there and died young, I forget his name, but I feel he's overrated
If he played in the NBA in his prime he would have been the best center of his era, his game would also be elevated facing and learning from Hakeem Olajuwon. He already showed he owned David Robinson in international competition, and the admiral was the 3rd best center of the era behind Dream and young Shaq. In fact Shaq would have not caused such an impression, Sabonis was taller, more athletic, and pretty much as powerful, also 100 times more skilled in shooting and passing. He probably would have won a championship along prime Clyde Drexler and Petrovic. One of the biggest 'what if' in NBA history.
Yes, and vision of game as well - he approach in a second wright for that nick of time for scoring. Also, his back dunking -two in one. When he dunk with that big figure and strength from the back we got also two in one - defense with back, and attack with scoring.
The one of the legends 🙏 I was just a kiddo watching him do his magic. It was the era of true rough real men basketball ☝️ I miss that. If I compare nowadays players, only Luka Doncic is playing similar. Is, old soul player.
Cuando Sabonis jugaba en el Real Madrid yo y mis amigos ibamos todos los domingos al Palacio de los Deportes. Uno de cada dos domingos, a ver a nuestro Estudiantes. El otro, a ver a Sabonis.
Hah! This vid not only manages to capture some of Sabonis's best NBA plays, but it also shows about everything I've heard about his pre-NBA days, including him bodying David Robinson and the '88 U.S. team and shattering backboards. Liked and favorited. :)
@Jeremy Leveille Alanta drafted him at 86. Back then it was the cold war abd I don't know if he even knew he was drafted. They passed the rights to portland at 89. Now , if portland were able to get him back then, that would have been interesting (although already crippled at that point). But judging from they way they treated Petrovic, I don't know If he would have gotten a fair chance.
he was a different beast, no one could stop him, even if they fouled him in every step. There will never be another Arvydas Sabonis. His son is amazing player too, but can never reach farhers level.
Yeah that was a super dunk but it is Sabonis in his prime v Robinson as a kid basically. Pity were never got to see their Prime together. Pity the NBA never saw the prime of Sabonis either. Before the internet all we saw was the NBA and just hear the legend of Sabonis, would have been good to to see him in his prime
Great selection! Greatest european center ever (escussi, signore Meneghin; perdón, señor Martín). I love the way he kisses goodnight to David Robinson!!
А где те 3 очка, которые Сабас положил югам в полуфинале ЧМ-86, на последней минуте, при минус 9??? На последней секунде владения сумасшедшим броском с попаданием от щита? Легендарный камбек с минус 9 за 45 секунд с выходом в овертайм и последующей победой там?
Recuerdo a Sabonis en la NBA cuando era adolescente, y aunque ya estaba muy veterano, era un excelente asistidor y tenía buen tiro a la distancia, algo inusual para los jugadores de su tamaño.
Before there was Nikola, there was Arvydas. There is literally nothing that any center does today that Sabonis didn't do in his career. In fact, I think he was so far ahead of his time that even what he did in the NBA - ridiculous passing and 3-point shooting - is totally forgotten because so many people probably didn't see him play much.
Una máquina como jugador de lo mejor de la historia. Llegó tarde a la NBA, si hubiera ido antes sería hoy por hoy el mejor pívot de la historia en el real Madrid hizo historia
No es cuestión tanto de que llegara tarde como de unos tobillos masacrados que impidieron verlo a pleno rendimiento. Y aún así era una gozada verlo jugar, así que sólo cabe imaginar cuánto habríamos disfrutado de este portento viéndolo jugar desde los 22 añitos en la NBA contra Olajuwon, Ewing, Jabbar, etc. Saludos
Such a great video. Wish he played from a young age in the NBA he would be one of the best ever no doubt. Thanks for posting thanks for sharing such a great video
He had everything.. if healthy and young he would be top five centers ever in nba. We yugoslavs gated him he was so good. But we had drazen kukoc radja divac paspalj danilovic ... Still.. He was one and only. Congrats arvidas. A basketball giant and a giant of basketball...
ahaha..I also hated yugo players xD but they were so good. miss those rivalties :D we also got Karnisovas, Marciulionis, Kurtinaitis and many more...well 1995 final..damn damn xD but it's sport so anything could happen..so right now we got some talk topics at least. I bet u guys hate us for 2015 euro semifinal. cheers
@@dovydasjackevicius72 yugoslavia was disolved in 2015. I am slovene ... daneu vilfan zdovc dragic doncic... Russia was a constant rival and greece.. and many of ussr players were from zalgiris. Damn shame for sabonis playing not in his prime in nba but he played good even if injured. Ofcourse as a basketball nation, yugoslavia, we respected other good players. Gallis. We had to be clever if not taller. Balkan trickery and improvisation.
@@dovydasjackevicius72 I really,y respect Lithuanian school of basketball, you had though history so many good shooters, and I really think that if something is a trademark of Lithuanian basketball that is shooting. But you also had great big guys beside Sabonis. And also I think that our rivalry is still well and live. We lost from you also in the world cup for the bronze medal in 2010 in Turkey (when we were awfully robbed in the semifinal game against Turkey... Still hurt ahahah) In 1995. Yugoslav (Serbian and Montenegro today's) players were really motivated and angry to everyone (in sport way) and eager to show the whole world and Europe what they could do, after 5 years of sanctions and not playing on big tournaments. They were so motivated to win the title and show that "positive spite". And these players were from a generation of Yugoslavia 89' team which was Europian Champion, then 1990 in Argentina world cup winners, and then one more time Europian champions in 1991. It is very sad that that country and that basketball generation collapsed and not shined fully. Croatia couldn't defeat the dream team alone in 92' Barcelona Olympic games. I think that these Yugoslav players if wasn't been war and collapse of the country could beat Americans back then. Others country and players were watching in Jordan and other USA players like that they are GODS... On the other hand, our players were motivated and arogant in sport way. You must have that if you want to beat the best. The problem with teams in 92' and even now is that they are respecting Americans too much. After that Yugoslavia (or Serbia and Montenegro) won the world championship in 1998, and 2002 in Indianapolis. (Where we beat USA team, and Argentinians in finals, 2 years later this Argentian team would also beat the USA and won 2004 Olympic gold medal) but after that, we didn't have so big achievements till 2014 and 2016. Now Americans maybe don't know, but Yugoslavia/Serbia have the same number of world cup titles as USA, 5 titles. I would support and cheer for any team in the world who can beat the USA team. You guys have also that spirit and good players to fight with USA team. You almost beat them in Olympic games 2000 in Sydney and also in London 2012 where you lost by just 5 point...See you in China this summer, I wouldn't be happy to meet with you guy in the tournament xd. But If you come to the finals, I will support you! We live for the matchup against USA team.
@@duloo97 thank for a nice comment :D awesome to hear normal discussion and I really can feel your love for basketball! I can talk bout it all day...p.s. i am afraid for Lithuania this world cup will end badly xD and u guys gonna be top4 easily. good luck
