# How good could Sabonis have been??



## Mao_Ying (Jun 23, 2002)

I've heard some say he could've been among the best centers ever if he hadn't been injured and had come to play in the US. I saw a video of him and he was amazing athletically, and then, to think of the skill he posesses, I don't really doubt that he might have been good enough to perhaps even be among the 50 greatest players, and top 10 (or better) centers of all time. Anybody with input, please respond.


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## NBA4life (Jul 29, 2002)

I don't know if I would go as far as saying he'd be one of the 50 best NBA players ever, but you never know what could have happened had he didn't have the knee injuries? 

I remember reading an article in Slam Magazine about Sabonis a while back. While playing in Europe, Sabonis was THE MAN. He could play with grace, run the court, dunk, shoot, pass, etc. Before the Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Olajuwon era, Sabonis definitely had a strong case of being a very good Center. He was a true freak of the 80s in Europe.


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## BBallFan (Jul 13, 2002)

Sabonis led Lithuania to the gold medal in 1988 against an American team that had David Robinson, Mitch Richmond, and Danny Manning (and if anyone posts that "Danny Manning sucks," they obviously only followed basketball recently. Manning might have been the best player out of the three). He scared us so much, that we had to bring in the Dream Team next Olympics, to avoid losing again.

There was NOTHING that Sabonis couldn't do. He would have easily been in the same class as players like Olajuwon had he been in his NBA during his prime.


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## ez8o5 (Aug 22, 2002)

Sabonis was schoolling the Admiral durring the 88's olympics


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

As you can see from my nick, Sabonis is my favourite player of all-time, so yes I am biased.
Had Sabonis not been injured (and had he not drowned into alcohol too) he would have been a top 10 center of all-time. Easily. 
IMO, he could have been right there with Jabbar is far as revolutionising the game, in that he was the first ever point/center. He could just stand outside the three point line and sink Js or find the open man. I consider him the best passing center of all-time, his court vision was second to none, not to mention that he had an impressive number of tricks, the most effective being his over-the-shoulder and behind-the-back passes to cutting men . All that packed in a 7-3 300lbs monster. I remember a play where he would grab the defensive board and make the outlet pass in one movement, before his feet touched the floor. You just wouldn't expect a giant like him to be so well coordinated, dribbling behind his back and between his legs with so much agility.

As far as his post skills are concerned, there again he was the European Jabbar, his skyhook was simply deadly. Everyone knew what he was going to do, but noone could stop him. He didn't have superior athleticism, but his positioning and knowledge of the game would enable him to average 15 boards a game and three blocks.

You might feel i'm overhyping him but really this dude would have make you look to the sport of basketball from another perspective.

Then again this is all speculation, and we all know what happened to him and his knees. Not to mention the 80's political agenda that also hampered his chances to play in the NBA


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## starbonis (Aug 7, 2002)

Sabonis is ahead of all centers actually playing !!.
Imagine the physical impact of Shaq (7"3, 300 lbs), the finesse touch of Hakeem, along with a Ewing relentless effort.

Everybody knows that Arvydas has schooled Robinson in Seoul'88. But his impact goes beyond this anecdoct. He is just one of a kind. 

I mean there will be 7"3 centers with good basketball skills (Ming, Smits, Big Z). But none of them would as hard to play as Sabas. No one, when he was in his prime, could push Arvydas from the paint (Shaq pushed an old 32 no knees center in the play-offs) He just was too strong. 
Damn, there are not a lot of video from him playing in his youth, but he was just like a train. He broke backboards in Euro championships 

Considering his tech, it's time to recognize that he is not only the best passing center all-time, but that he can be considered along with Bird as one of the player who had the most flair in seeing what's going to happen in the next 5 secs. He just sees the movement before people know what they're going to do, he just FEELS the floor some moments before every one else on the court.

The Sovietic governement knew how Sabas was good...but unlike China they didn't want to export their marvel.
Because Sabas is also a clever personn: would he have gone to Portland sooner, he would certainly not have supported the Soviet system and wanted to look like a living commercial. He didn't like to promota a system that was oppressing his homeland. Would he have been a little less straight about his minf, he could have gone to the Us
Sabonis is devotic patriot to his Lithuania country, and everytime he can he has played for them. 

Sabonis had the level in his prime to be the best center in the NBA, and therefore having the reputation he deserves and being regarded as one of the best top 10 center (maybe top-5). It's only his attitude that left him playing in Europe.


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## starbonis (Aug 7, 2002)

I believe that there will be sooner another Jordan, or even a player stronger than Mike at his position, before there will be another Sabonis !!!!


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## mike (Jun 11, 2002)

Sabonis was a great player and I don't see how anyone can dispute that. It's fair to say he didn't do much in the NBA but that doesn't mean that he wasn't great. Europeans can ball and Sabonis was one of the best ever. Here's some quotes for anyone that's interested. "He's about winning. You can tell that without him saying much. He's not in awe of anybody. He knows he can play with anybody. He knows what he can do." -Rod Strickland, Washington Wizards "If big people don't come out and guard him, he'll kill people with the three-point line." -Bucky Buckwater, Portland VP "He's the strongest player I have ever played against." -Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers "That guy, without his injuries, would have been better than David Robinson. Believe me, he was that good. Know him long time. In 1985, he was a beast. He ran the floor like Ralph Sampson, could shoot the three, dunk. He would have been an NBA all-star 10 years in a row. It's true, I tell you." -Dino Radja, former Boston Celtic "If he gets inside, he is so skilled-- he's got that hook shot and he's big." -Chris Dudley, New York Knicks "...scoring down low, passing, and rebounding. He's a great ballplayer." -Kenny Anderson, Boston Celtics "The toughest one is Sabonis. That dude must be 7-5 or 7-6, and he's leaning on you, so when you go to jump, you've got 300 pounds on your back." -Jayson Williams, on the most challenging center. "Sabonis gives (the Blazers) a presence that most teams just don't have. When you got a guy as big as he is who can do the things that he does, it creates problems." -George Karl, Seattle coach "He was my idol and he still is. He was the greatest basketball player in the world, and I just tried to copy all of his moves. I couldn't though, because he had too many." - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavs "Sabonis makes it tough with the stuff he is able to do." - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves on matching up against Sabonis "People who saw him play at a young age put (Sabonis) in the top five centers of all-time, when you watch him now and think about it, you can see it, he's got the 3-point shot, the sky hook, and he can beat people off the dribble. I wish I could have played with him when he was younger and even now. He has such a great feel for the game, and a lot of the guys could benefit more from his abilities if they had a little better feel. He can read plays before they happen. He's like Bird, Magic, and Jordan in that sense. They see it a couple of plays ahead." -Mike Dunleavy, former player/coach "He's now 30 years old, but I remember him when I played against him when he was 21 or 22, he was the best center I ever saw in my life. I can say easy he was a better player than Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem. . . . I'm telling you, he was the best center I ever saw in my life. "He was passing the ball, dribbling, shooting three-pointers, jumping. He did everything. Now he's lost his speed because of injury, but still he's a smart player. He knows basketball." -Vlade Divac, Sacramento Kings. "If you pass it to Arvydas, he will pass it back to you." - Sarunas Marciulionis, speaking on Sabonis' unselfishness. "I don't know why a player like that didn't come into the league a long time ago... " - former Timberwolves coach Bill Blair after the game. "Sabonis' surprises everybody in the league, I know they thought he could play, but I don't think they knew how well he can..." - Cliff Robinson, Phoenix Suns. "Arvydas Sabonis... ? Fun." - Gary Payton and Damon Stoudamire during a Nike Fun Police Ad. ""He's an oversized Globetrotter from overseas... " - Rumeal Robinson, former teammate. "When he has the ball, cut to the basket and whatever you do, keep your hands up, or he'll make you look bad." - Harvey Grant on Sabonis' passing. "I thought he was as good a prospect as I had ever seen. He was stronger than Bill Walton. I couldn't get over what potential he had. Such a great raw talent." - Coach Bobby Knight "I've watched him (Sabonis) for years, he's great. All you have to do is just move. He reads the defense so well." - Scottie Pippen on Sabonis' passing. "I know a lot of people are going to look at that pick as something less than it is. Please do not. I remember back in Golden State or Milwaukee, there was a guy who came along named Sabonis. I wish I would have drafted him. I'm not saying (Wang) is a Sabonis, but I kicked myself for a long time." - Don Nelson, after drafting Wang ZhiZhi. "I wasn't looking, and he threw me a pass... I don't get too many of those from (Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe) Mutombo" - Steve Smith, after getting hit by a Sabonis pass during one of his first practices with the Trailblazers. "He has great awareness of what's going on the floor," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "The more experience he gets playing people in this league, the better he's going to be." Said Utah's John Stockton: "He's a skilled big guy with wonderful hands. He's a talent, and he's an unknown talent because most guys haven't seen him yet." "I don't know how many minutes he'll be able to play," Portland point guard Rod Strickland said, "but the time he's out there he's going to do some real good things for us. He has a great feel for the game, and I think he'll show more things each time he's out there." "Give him credit," said Utah's Karl Malone, who took his turn guarding Portland's newest star. "He came out and stayed poised and did the things he had to do. He can play in this league, there's no question about that."


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## Nightfly (Sep 24, 2002)

I was going through old threads tonight and I figured I'd bump this one back up. It could be fun now that we have a few Blazers and Sabonis fans on the board...

Heh heh heh...


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## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

Had he played his entire career in the NBA he would have been simply the best Center in Basketball ever. Even when he came to Portland in his later years, his basketball IQ made him a a great player. His passing and size were still there, even if his legs were not. Portland missed out on some championships had he played with the teams that lost to the Pistons and Bulls.

If Portland had Sobonis instead of Duckworth, oh my, that would have been something to watch. A shooting guard in Drexler with the passing style of Sabonis? WOW!


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## cimalee (Apr 17, 2003)

yea sabonis was great to watch


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## SheedSoNasty (Dec 31, 2002)

Was Starvydas and Starbonis the same person? Both from france... similar names... coincidence? Possibly.

Anywho, what I'd really like to know is if he would be able to contribute a solid 15-20 mpg as of right now.


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## yangsta (May 14, 2003)

Anyone have his non-NBA career stats?


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## Yega1979 (Mar 22, 2003)

Sabonis, even though very slowed by injury, was VERY under-rated as a Blazer. He was one of the most productive center's per 48 minutes. His presence on defense was huge, you could run the offense through him, or let him dominate smaller centers in the paint, he could also pop out and hit the jump shot. 

He was MUCH more deserving of an all-star bid than the guys making it today like Brad Miller and Jamal Magiloor. I think Sabonis is the best center to ever play the game. At least, he was in his hay day. There's no question that he's a top 50 player, you should be asking is he top 10? I'd say yes.


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## QRICH (Feb 2, 2004)

http://homepage.mac.com/sanvitale/iMovieTheater.html

here is a clip from the 88 olympic games where he absolutely abused Robinson.


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## pliumbum (Mar 23, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>starbonis</b>!
> I believe that there will be sooner another Jordan, or even a player stronger than Mike at his position, before there will be another Sabonis !!!!



A player stronger than Mike in his position. Let's look at LeBron after five years.


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## RoseCity (Sep 27, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>yangsta</b>!
> Anyone have his non-NBA career stats?


good question, id like to know as well.


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## pliumbum (Mar 23, 2004)

IMO, unless you work in KGB archives, you'll get nothing... 

Yeah, Sabonis at the age of 23 was Shaq, Duncan, Kidd and Kobe in one person. In one tall person.

And about the video... Sabonis is playing just after the surgery there. Ask anybody Lithuanian. Sabas himself didn't want to play in the Olympics after the surgery, but the USSR coach convinced him saying: "You will have to play only five minutes per game. Just sit on the bench and be a fan, and I will call you when we need you." Sabas really did play five minutes in the first game, but the coach was astonished by his shape and in the last games of the Olympics Sabonis was playing almost without substitutions. And you what he was doing...

In fact, the gold was won by the USSR team in '88 Olympics, but we can really say it was Lithuania who won the tournament really. The key players of USSR team were 4 Lithuanians: Sabonis, Marciulionis, Kurtinaitis and Chomicius. If they wouldn't have been on the court, I doubt that USSR team had won any medal.


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## Crazy Fan From Idaho (Dec 31, 2002)

I only have a couple things to add to this thread:

1. IIRC, Starvydas and Starbonis are cousins.

2. Pre-NBA stats are available for when he was playing in Spain, but it's his pre-_injury_ stats that would be interesting to see. Those stats seem to be virtually non-existent.

Here's a nice pic I found the other day from when Sabonis was rehabbing in Portland before the '88 Olympics.

Sabonis JEGA!!!!!


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