I am 40 from Eastern Europe. The first names associated with basketball I've heard as a kid were Kareem Abdul Jabar and Sabonis. I didn't know what they look like, what nationality they were, I just knew they were the two best ever and there was no third. Like Maradona/Pele type of thing at that time.
This is the video I've been waiting for! It's bizarre how no one talks about Arvydas even when Domantas is in the league now. Wish more people shared Arvydas stories.
Arvydas Sabonis came into the league at age 32. During his playing time in Portland there was already David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal in the West Conference getting the votes for the All Star team. If Sabonis came to Portland back in late 1980s and helped the 90 and 92 Finals teams win the NBA championship. This would be a different Conversation
Oh he was way better than Jokic. He schooled our Olympic teams back in 87 and 88. Go look. He schooled David Robinson. He busted up Shaq a few times as an old Sabonis.
@@jackson5781Waaaaaaaaaay more athletic, bigger, n stronger. Honestly prob a better shooter too. His passing ability was elite too, but we cant say hes a better passer than Joker cuzz that dude throws some serious dimes. You could go on to say Arvy mighta been the best big of all time if not for injury. He was ahead of his time and a physical specimen
put prime healthy OG Sabonis in his son's place and he would be a 7'3" version of Jokic, would play above the rim much more, block and alter hella more shots, and turn the Kings into a legit title contender
Arvydas was past his prime, busted knees and playing against many HOF big men in the league at that time. But still managed to put up 12pts, 7reb & 2ast in less than 20min a night. We were robbed of an amazing talent, he would've been the Jokić of that ERA.
For the triangle offense, he means a good high post, mid post passing. Jordan, Pippen, Grant and Rodman who is an underrated passer himself all played that high post mid post position. The triangle is interchangeable.
Imagine if you ran a 5 out offence. You Give everyone a chance to post up. If you have post up guards, you create chaos for the defence. And big men are closer to the basket their protecting. Especially, since zone defence was banned.
I'm from pdx area and never loved our "jailblazers"... I'm also a Seahawks fan and starting to think Sheed is the Marshawn Lynch of football.. genuinely enjoyable dude and probably misrepresented
It wasn’t so much that it was the matchups the only two players that gave mj trouble later on at his position was penny and Mitch Richmond like center was main thing back then now it’s about the wings and solid center play!
@jarrod1766 Sabonis was great, but in no way wld have been enough to beat Jordan. MJ faced way greater centers & forwards than Sabonis in his prime. Sabonis in his prime however may be the most under-rated center of all time.
Sheed has said it was hell for a POWER FORWARD back in the day when you play games back to back games against: David Robinson, Karl Malone, Chris Webber, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwan, Shaq, Ewing, and etc. This era of TRAVELING &PALMING the basketball is TRASH.
Was way better than Joker. Dude you should have seen him in his prime in the Olympics. Dude was cold. Go look in 87 and 88 against David Robinson. Then look at him when he was old and busted up Shaq!!!
It really is a shame that players learning today don't know about how great players like Sabonis were. Sheed mentioned Rod Strickland too... another.... ridiculous ball player. An honest assessment of the game today would admit the iso ball skills today on average are better, but... the rules are established exactly to encourage that, and to delete players like Shaq, Dream, Ewing, Sabonis.... etc. because the NBA has decided that scoring more points is more appealing that selling high level technical basketball... which requires players be allowed much more contact which slows down the game. The league is absolutely not better, and overall the players are not better either. It's the worst I've even seen actually. Barely watch it anymore. Everybody wants to be what the warriors were... not even the warriors can do that.
Rod Strickland is one of the most underrated point guards in the NBA. He was an awesome pass. Got you at least 4 rebounds a game. He was one of the few guards in the league that never had is his lay-up shot blocked by Shaquille O’Neil. Rod Strickland got a snub from a few All-Star teams.
The Portland Jail Blazers should have been 2000 NBA champion...... they were the best team but crumbled and couldn't finish the Lakers off. That game was hard to watch.
A healthy Arvydas is better than Jokic because Sabonis was an athlete! Ran and jumped like a small forward...blocked shots.. made every version of a pass (feeding cutters, interior passes to the PF for a better shot, on the break, high post, low post), he made every open jumper and had all the low-post moves like Kevin McHale....AND he was 7'3"!! Once the Achilles, feet and knees started to fail him it wasn't the same. Put it this way... go back and consider he was a shell of himself in Portland, played limited minutes and shared the ball with Sheed, Damon, Steve Smith, JR Rider, Cliff Robinson etc...then look at his numbers!! He was talented enough to still get you 12 and 8 and a block a night very few shots, and they still had to foul him. My dude was getting to the line almost every other shot. Sabonis was a combination of every best NBA big. And that's not an exaggeration. It's just what he was.
Fundamentally, arcades was one of the greatest. Pick and roll offense with Kobe MJ or Allan iverson. If you ranked at each skill set as big man. He’s was 5/5 in every category. Shaq and wilt were horrible shooters and sabonis could hit the 3’s and was a great free throw shooter. . Other big men didn’t have the vision he had when passing, and sabonis had his moments with Shaq where he held his own and that was near the end of his career
@@cheetahturner4576 you don’t know your history, he played against the American national teams and was the most dominant on the floor. 13 point pts 13 rebounds 10 assista in the Olympics ina win vs US national team. Or how about 23 points against the 3x national player of the year who would go to be 1st round pick in the nBA draft. Did wilt shoots 3s and was efficient from the free throw line? What about Shaq?….. if the HOF players mention Sabonis with wilt and shaq then I’m going to mention sabonis with wilt and shaq. Educate yourself before you spread your emotions like a little American girl. You made no point in your comment, other than being emotional and upset lol. Sabonis was 31 year old rookie that was obligated to his contract with the blazers. He wasn’t going to have a10 year career, he wasn’t going to enter the free agent market and get a good deal at that age. If you decide to comment back, be a man, comment with logic not emotions
@@yyynbbggsage7398 is he the exception?? American athletes don’t count, lol…… it was harder for a player like Sabonis to be cleared to play in the Olympics. It was the Cold War era, they committee wasn’t going to let them walk on thru like the Americans…… just recently we saw how Chinese as European athletes were able to slide, but the world has come to hate Americans and aren’t letting Americans roll thru, even if it is marijuana. Welcome to politics. Your comment was meaningless, especially with Karl Malone being as dominant as he was. And let’s not bring up baseball and football in the 90s. Ya seems like American athletes were dependent steroids
@gzsweets dude u fool them team was bums then none was in nba till early 90s only few players made it sabonis was scared on nba waited till got old shaq an other centers ate him up u learn history
@@ektran4205 That's not true, it was due to the fact that he was under the age of 21, which allowed him to re-enter the draft the following year..... Try again modafoga
facts!!!! after they destroyed us, we had to readjust! same thing happened with olympic hockey, and overall, america dont like to be shown up on the big stage
Sabas was so much fun to watch on that Portland team. Shooting that deep two, dishing from the post and battling Shaq, those were the days at the Rose Garden.
💯 He was cold even in his older age. I remember what you’re talking about. I loved watching him on that Blazers team. His passing & shooting was top tier.
If he was not injured and came to NBA he would be GOAT. I am serious. Prime Sabonis is the best player I have ever seen. Imagine a 7-2, 260lb athletic monster, thst could dribble, pass, post up, shoot midrange and threes, while being an elite post defender and shot blocker. There is no one to compare him.
@@yyynbbggsage7398 😂😂 The league was full of cocaine and crack in the 70s-80s and doping was your concern?? How about recently those LeBron trips to Miami the past few years mid-season. Hair transplant?
Still the best passing big man I’ve ever seen. Just imagine what we would’ve seen if he got to the league at least 10 years earlier. Definitely way ahead of his time. His son, Kevin Garnett, Wilt Chamberlain, Boris Diaw, Vlade Divac, Marcus Camby & Nikola Jokic are other great big man passers that come to mind for me.
Sheed the reallest!! As Sabas told in one of his interviews to Lithuaniaan press "Sheed must have had the biggest hunger for W on our team" pitty they didnt get the chip
David Stern felt the highest rated NBA Finals would be LA Lakers vs LA Lakers! Indiana Pacers won the ECF in 2000 while the WCF went game 7 Blazers vs Lakers. The league doesn’t make so much money if two small market teams are competing in the NBA Finals.
@@bigglilwayne7050 I think Dell Curry made one All Star game. Besides that, when I comes to Father/son duos one is a star the other is a role player or fringe NBA player
Only reason Lakers beat Portland in 7 was Shaq could play more minutes than thousand-year-old Sabas, and got a bunch of minutes per game beating up poor Brian Grant. When Sabas was on the court, Portland was by far the better team.
I don't consider it a "bad" attitude as much as an unwillingness to play the PC/PR game. He wasn't going stand for being talked down to or gaslighted, which I can appreciate, but it definitely worked against him and the team because...you know...the world. All this is to say that 'Sheed was content to have the truth on his side, but you still have to treat people with respect to get them to see things your way.
I lived in Portland during the Sabonis and Wallace era. My grandmother had a house in the same neighborhood as Sheed. The Trail Blazers at the time had their practice facilities at Lewis and Clark College. I show Sheed drive around the neighborhood in his yellow Hummer. My father was asked by the medical director NBA to be the team psychiatrist for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sheed would apply himself when he got angry! Sheed got a reputation with the referees for being a hothead. You don’t need the league in technical fouls for two seasons in a row. Sheed felt his emotional outburst didn’t cost the team wins. While in the playoffs the difference on winning or losing a game can come down to one or two bad possessions or plays.
I believe Sabonis is what Jokic is today combined with prime Marc Gasol. A do-it-all center that can make plays, stretch the floor, post-up, and even defend.
imagine if he cld come when he was younger! There was a rule in former SSSR amd former Yugoslavia that you cannot go play abroad before 27.years of age.
99-00’ Blazers team was talented with Damon, Smitty, Pip, Sheed and Sabonis starting. Plus you had Greg Anthony, Bonzi, Detlef, Stacey Augmon, Brian Grant, and Jermaine O’Neal coming off the bench.
99-01 blazers last time i kept up with basketball. Im 35 years old from Memphis. Haven't cared about a team since then other than the Grizzlies 2010-till now. I remember yelling out Sabonis name when i would shot a jumper , joking around everybody else yelling out J
@@cheetahturner4576 see that's how little you think, I'm not talking about just in America. Man y'all show how small y'all think. He was global before you were born son.
Most ignorant basketball guy, as many Americans thinks basketball is only NBA.. Basketball is much more, European basketball, International, Olympic games, world championship..Arvydas Sabonis Top 5 centers of All Times, not All NBA..
Sabonis was amazing in Portland, the only way to imagine is to watch the highlights. It's unfortunate the NBA did him wrong and let Shaq be that fat offensive foul machine he was. Personally, I would take Sabonis in his youth over shaq coming out of LSU. Not to minimize anybody but he played today's game in the early 80's and probably could have been a bull in a China shop if he wanted to be. We could not understand why they were drafting a Soviet in Portland and unfortunately we found out many years later, post Soviet mismanagement injuries exactly why. Rasheed got a bad rap that was undeserved. As a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers. We've witnessed the referees give big market Lakers team games that were dominated by the Blazers. They were a damn good team and we still love those guys, except for Scottie Pippen. He was a lazy dog in heat and seems to still be.
Prime Arvydas was literally prime Jokic, only quicker and more athletic. By far the greatest "what if" case, because he was allowed to join the NBA way to late, when he was slow, heavily injured and broken.
It would have been really fun to watch Arvydas Sabonis play before the injuries because he was very athletic with leaping ability and could play above the rim, and a lot of people don't know that about him, and if he hadn't been hurt, it would have been a huge problem and a nightmare for a lot of people to go up against, especially in today's NBA. In conclusion, the Arvydas Sabonis that NBA fans have seen is merely a shadow of his former self.
Arvydas Sabonis had the whole basket court in his mind. A passer with the same skills on that matter as of Larry Bird, Stockton or Magic Johnson. Best big man passer ever
Sabonis se rompió 2 veces el tendón de Aquiles;conocen a alguien que haya jugado después de 2 lesiones tan graves?.Tuve la suerte de verle antes y después de las lesiones;ya ko dijo el médico de Portland, está para que le den una discapacidad.
Wallace is spot on. Arvydas Sabonis might just have been the greatest non-American basketball player of all time when he was in his prime. There are videos here on UA-cam showing his amazing talents when he played for the Soviet Union. The Sabonis that played for Portland was- maybe- 60% of what he used to be.
Biggest what if in NBA history. Euroleague mvp at 40 or 41, portland doctors said he could get handicapped parking spot when he came to the league finally. Still gave work. Comes from a nation that were the last pagans in Europe, had the longest crusades against them, before that pillaged vikings themselves. 4 players were starters in the soviet union basketball team from that little tiny nation, that caused the dream team. Even the strongman goat comes from that nation. Sabonis was something else when he was young, a legend of the old world.
![Arvydas Sabonis [23pts/10reb] VS Shaquille O'Neal [27pts/8reb] - 1997](/img/n.gif)
I am 40 from Eastern Europe. The first names associated with basketball I've heard as a kid were Kareem Abdul Jabar and Sabonis. I didn't know what they look like, what nationality they were, I just knew they were the two best ever and there was no third. Like Maradona/Pele type of thing at that time.
This is the video I've been waiting for! It's bizarre how no one talks about Arvydas even when Domantas is in the league now. Wish more people shared Arvydas stories.
Facts
Arvydas Sabonis came into the league at age 32. During his playing time in Portland there was already David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal in the West Conference getting the votes for the All Star team. If Sabonis came to Portland back in late 1980s and helped the 90 and 92 Finals teams win the NBA championship. This would be a different Conversation
Right? And all we have to do is imagine his son being 7’3 with a better shot. Easily a Top 5 player in todays NBA.
@bartell1307 He'd probably have st least 3 rings. Lakers might even make as many Finals
Dude I got all kinds of Sabonis stories, both him and Oscar Schmidt stories of how they torched us in 87 and 88
Basically the first Jokic…
Oh he was way better than Jokic. He schooled our Olympic teams back in 87 and 88. Go look. He schooled David Robinson. He busted up Shaq a few times as an old Sabonis.
Exactly but he broke all the records and was already all time great where he’s from
@@jackson5781Waaaaaaaaaay more athletic, bigger, n stronger. Honestly prob a better shooter too. His passing ability was elite too, but we cant say hes a better passer than Joker cuzz that dude throws some serious dimes. You could go on to say Arvy mighta been the best big of all time if not for injury. He was ahead of his time and a physical specimen
put prime healthy OG Sabonis in his son's place and he would be a 7'3" version of Jokic, would play above the rim much more, block and alter hella more shots, and turn the Kings into a legit title contender
No, he was the first Sabonis.
There is legendary video, where Porland born son of Arvydas Domantas Sabonis at the pre school age says his favourite player is Rasheed Wallace 😊😊😊❤
Notice Sheeds eyes glaze when he heard the name Sabonis. Now talk about how he was going to beat your ass, but you didn't want that smoke.
Sheed threw a towel right in his face and Sabonis didn't do anything 😂
@@jus3278You missed part two of that story, of what went down in the locker room after.
@@ergoat reading it now lol. I never knew
He did talk about it recently. I dont think you need to put it this way tho. He has ALWAYS shown love to Sabonis both as a player and as a teammate
SHEED, fantastic player
sheed is godfather of these modern nba big men
I hated when those Portland teams played my Jazz. Wallace and Sabonis would always take it to them!
We need Sheed to cover Lame Ass All-star game & call LeBron out cuz he started this non competitive shit. Just look at that ASG with him vs Kobe .
@michaelallen8112 LeBron is a loser! What a waste of a game, especially after going back to an actual proper format of East vs. West.
Sheed was one of, if not, the best defensive bigs I’ve ever seen. He was the only guy to put Timmy Spurs on ice.
'HE NOT YOUR VYDAS .. HE'S ARVYDAS' ..
Rip city
He was a beast back in ‘88 Olympics… my gooodness 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Arvydas was past his prime, busted knees and playing against many HOF big men in the league at that time. But still managed to put up 12pts, 7reb & 2ast in less than 20min a night. We were robbed of an amazing talent, he would've been the Jokić of that ERA.
For the triangle offense, he means a good high post, mid post passing. Jordan, Pippen, Grant and Rodman who is an underrated passer himself all played that high post mid post position. The triangle is interchangeable.
There’s video of Shaq elbowing Sabonis in dah chest and Sabonis sporting the bruises.
What we (USA) saw was an old Sabonis when he came in the league.
Imagine if you ran a 5 out offence.
You Give everyone a chance to post up.
If you have post up guards, you create chaos for the defence.
And big men are closer to the basket their protecting.
Especially, since zone defence was banned.
He's not your Vydas, he's not my Vydas, but He's Arvydas Sabonis!
I'm from pdx area and never loved our "jailblazers"... I'm also a Seahawks fan and starting to think Sheed is the Marshawn Lynch of football.. genuinely enjoyable dude and probably misrepresented
This is why I laugh when I hear young dudes say Michael, Magic & Bird didn't play against anybody in the old NBA!
It wasn’t so much that it was the matchups the only two players that gave mj trouble later on at his position was penny and Mitch Richmond like center was main thing back then now it’s about the wings and solid center play!
@@DatsjoeYT Only 1 player ever Really gave MJ trouble.....that was Joe Dumars, he admitted that himself.
Jordan never had to face pre injuries Sabonis. Had the Blazers had him in 92 that series would have been much different
@jarrod1766 Sabonis was great, but in no way wld have been enough to beat Jordan. MJ faced way greater centers & forwards than Sabonis in his prime. Sabonis in his prime however may be the most under-rated center of all time.
Sheed has said it was hell for a POWER FORWARD back in the day when you play games back to back games against: David Robinson, Karl Malone, Chris Webber, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwan, Shaq, Ewing, and etc. This era of TRAVELING &PALMING the basketball is TRASH.
This is how I know Wemby is gonna be an all-time great. When UA-cam is already feeding me videos like this in his rookie year.
"cross you over and take 6 side steps".....haha, preach!!!!!!!
Joker before joker
Was way better than Joker. Dude you should have seen him in his prime in the Olympics. Dude was cold. Go look in 87 and 88 against David Robinson. Then look at him when he was old and busted up Shaq!!!
Far better than joker. Not even on the same category.
If Stern hadn’t pushed the button and mandated Sabonis’ phantom foul trouble, the Blazers win the ring and Shaw and Kobe get broken up ring-less
It really is a shame that players learning today don't know about how great players like Sabonis were. Sheed mentioned Rod Strickland too... another.... ridiculous ball player. An honest assessment of the game today would admit the iso ball skills today on average are better, but... the rules are established exactly to encourage that, and to delete players like Shaq, Dream, Ewing, Sabonis.... etc. because the NBA has decided that scoring more points is more appealing that selling high level technical basketball... which requires players be allowed much more contact which slows down the game. The league is absolutely not better, and overall the players are not better either. It's the worst I've even seen actually. Barely watch it anymore. Everybody wants to be what the warriors were... not even the warriors can do that.
Rod Strickland is one of the most underrated point guards in the NBA. He was an awesome pass. Got you at least 4 rebounds a game. He was one of the few guards in the league that never had is his lay-up shot blocked by Shaquille O’Neil. Rod Strickland got a snub from a few All-Star teams.
Legend talking about a legend 🚬👌🏻
Sabonis killed me every time on NBA Live 99
Physically powerful, all muscle.
We need Sheed to interview Sabonis. Let them talk about the time Sabonis threatened to kill Sheed after the towel incident.
I just knew they was gone get the ring
Nba need to bring back hand checking
The Portland Jail Blazers should have been 2000 NBA champion...... they were the best team but crumbled and couldn't finish the Lakers off. That game was hard to watch.
Support the ABA & NBA 🏀
Remember when Rasheed threw a towel at Arvydas?
Pause 😂 1:45
A healthy Arvydas is better than Jokic because Sabonis was an athlete! Ran and jumped like a small forward...blocked shots.. made every version of a pass (feeding cutters, interior passes to the PF for a better shot, on the break, high post, low post), he made every open jumper and had all the low-post moves like Kevin McHale....AND he was 7'3"!! Once the Achilles, feet and knees started to fail him it wasn't the same. Put it this way... go back and consider he was a shell of himself in Portland, played limited minutes and shared the ball with Sheed, Damon, Steve Smith, JR Rider, Cliff Robinson etc...then look at his numbers!! He was talented enough to still get you 12 and 8 and a block a night very few shots, and they still had to foul him. My dude was getting to the line almost every other shot. Sabonis was a combination of every best NBA big. And that's not an exaggeration. It's just what he was.
They were supposed to go to the finals,😢 they missed 15 consecutive shots,15.!!!!!
Why did he throw that towel in his face?
That's why he threw a towel over his head...
Why you throw a towel on his head on national tv tho?
Bruh with the laptop and the tight ass pants look like a character on Arthur... Prolly an aardvark... (anteater)
Your hate sounds like bitter jealousy.
Who tf are you?
Fundamentally, arcades was one of the greatest. Pick and roll offense with Kobe MJ or Allan iverson. If you ranked at each skill set as big man. He’s was 5/5 in every category. Shaq and wilt were horrible shooters and sabonis could hit the 3’s and was a great free throw shooter. . Other big men didn’t have the vision he had when passing, and sabonis had his moments with Shaq where he held his own and that was near the end of his career
Dude u fool never mention Sabo is with wilt or shaq. Sabonis played bums overseas then came to nba didn't win crap
They forget he was roided up too lol.
@@cheetahturner4576 you don’t know your history, he played against the American national teams and was the most dominant on the floor. 13 point pts 13 rebounds 10 assista in the Olympics ina win vs US national team. Or how about 23 points against the 3x national player of the year who would go to be 1st round pick in the nBA draft. Did wilt shoots 3s and was efficient from the free throw line? What about Shaq?….. if the HOF players mention Sabonis with wilt and shaq then I’m going to mention sabonis with wilt and shaq. Educate yourself before you spread your emotions like a little American girl. You made no point in your comment, other than being emotional and upset lol. Sabonis was 31 year old rookie that was obligated to his contract with the blazers. He wasn’t going to have a10 year career, he wasn’t going to enter the free agent market and get a good deal at that age. If you decide to comment back, be a man, comment with logic not emotions
@@yyynbbggsage7398 is he the exception?? American athletes don’t count, lol…… it was harder for a player like Sabonis to be cleared to play in the Olympics. It was the Cold War era, they committee wasn’t going to let them walk on thru like the Americans…… just recently we saw how Chinese as European athletes were able to slide, but the world has come to hate Americans and aren’t letting Americans roll thru, even if it is marijuana. Welcome to politics. Your comment was meaningless, especially with Karl Malone being as dominant as he was. And let’s not bring up baseball and football in the 90s. Ya seems like American athletes were dependent steroids
@gzsweets dude u fool them team was bums then none was in nba till early 90s only few players made it sabonis was scared on nba waited till got old shaq an other centers ate him up u learn history
Pretty sure David Robinson and Danny Manning know about Sabonis.
Yep and my alumnus of Coach Ron Slaymaker would tell you how cold Sabonis was
Lol yeah. I saw that game.
Mr Robinson got eaten up.
@@dudermcdude9245 both him and Manning both.
Domantas Sabonis doesn't fall far from the Arvydas tree.
Yo baby Sabas is arctic kold:)) hope he goes to spurs and team up with Wemby
We want Sabonis here in Atl with Trae
Love Domantas but his dad did it with a lot more flair
His dad was 1 of the only dudes that could go toe to toe with Shaq.... Shaq would dunk on him but Sabonis would give it back
He ain’t nothing compared to his daddy tbh
Things wouldve went much differently for Jordan if Clyde had Sabonis in that Portland-Chicago series
History would changed cause Portland gonna win at least 3
Unlike all the other Finals teams MJ faced, Clyde was missing a perennial All-Star next to him. Sabonis would've been that.
@@xLeeroycranexThey would have had no answer for Sabas
atlanta drafted arvidas in 1985 since sabonis couldn't play outside of the iron curtain until 26 the nba reentered him in the for the 86 draft
@@ektran4205
That's not true, it was due to the fact that he was under the age of 21, which allowed him to re-enter the draft the following year..... Try again modafoga
He is the sole reason for the 92 dream team
facts!!!! after they destroyed us, we had to readjust! same thing happened with olympic hockey, and overall, america dont like to be shown up on the big stage
Exactly
No
Haha! You don’t have a clue
*sole
Sabas was so much fun to watch on that Portland team. Shooting that deep two, dishing from the post and battling Shaq, those were the days at the Rose Garden.
💯 He was cold even in his older age. I remember what you’re talking about. I loved watching him on that Blazers team. His passing & shooting was top tier.
If he was not injured and came to NBA he would be GOAT. I am serious. Prime Sabonis is the best player I have ever seen. Imagine a 7-2, 260lb athletic monster, thst could dribble, pass, post up, shoot midrange and threes, while being an elite post defender and shot blocker. There is no one to compare him.
He won't have access to soviet doping in the US
@@yyynbbggsage7398 😂😂 The league was full of cocaine and crack in the 70s-80s and doping was your concern?? How about recently those LeBron trips to Miami the past few years mid-season. Hair transplant?
@@jaytorr6701 so would he have been as strong and fast as he was in the Olympics if he didn't have access to Soviet steroids?
Nice deflection
Got to see Sabonis twice. 1996 Against 76ers in the Spectrum. And 2003 in East Rutherford against the Nets. Dime city!!!!
Wonder if Sheed ever apologized for throwing a towel in his face.
Still the best passing big man I’ve ever seen. Just imagine what we would’ve seen if he got to the league at least 10 years earlier. Definitely way ahead of his time. His son, Kevin Garnett, Wilt Chamberlain, Boris Diaw, Vlade Divac, Marcus Camby & Nikola Jokic are other great big man passers that come to mind for me.
Jokic surpassed him.
@@TTFMjock Take your homer glasses off.
Luved Boris mention… 🙏🏼
This man knows basketball, not a lot would mention Camby as a good passing big.
Bill Walton too
Yeah but Sheed disrespected him often when with the Blazers.
Too bad they don’t bother to talk how good prime Sabonis was. Mount Rushmore material for sure.
"Stroke the tramp" is a new phrase for me but I love it!
Sheed the reallest!! As Sabas told in one of his interviews to Lithuaniaan press "Sheed must have had the biggest hunger for W on our team" pitty they didnt get the chip
They couldn't get past Shaq and Kobe
David Stern felt the highest rated NBA Finals would be LA Lakers vs LA Lakers! Indiana Pacers won the ECF in 2000 while the WCF went game 7 Blazers vs Lakers. The league doesn’t make so much money if two small market teams are competing in the NBA Finals.
@@kylepatillo5071the refs
@bartell1307 exactly Stern even was bias for Lakers
@@Bigedub101 Sabas has mentioned couple of time, that league managment wasnt very fond of the Blazers
The Sabonis' might be the best father/ son duo ever. Can't think of anyone else
Ummmmmmmm Rick Berry had how many sons play in the NBA???
@@bigglilwayne7050 how many were all stars?
@@bigglilwayne7050 I think Dell Curry made one All Star game. Besides that, when I comes to Father/son duos one is a star the other is a role player or fringe NBA player
steph curry and his son dame lillard.
Luka and Booker aren't bad.
Only reason Lakers beat Portland in 7 was Shaq could play more minutes than thousand-year-old Sabas, and got a bunch of minutes per game beating up poor Brian Grant. When Sabas was on the court, Portland was by far the better team.
Throwing that towel in Sabas' face was disrespectful
Rasheed Wallace was an emotional player. Also, Shaq was a difficult player to guard and officiate
I don't consider it a "bad" attitude as much as an unwillingness to play the PC/PR game. He wasn't going stand for being talked down to or gaslighted, which I can appreciate, but it definitely worked against him and the team because...you know...the world.
All this is to say that 'Sheed was content to have the truth on his side, but you still have to treat people with respect to get them to see things your way.
I lived in Portland during the Sabonis and Wallace era. My grandmother had a house in the same neighborhood as Sheed. The Trail Blazers at the time had their practice facilities at Lewis and Clark College. I show Sheed drive around the neighborhood in his yellow Hummer. My father was asked by the medical director NBA to be the team psychiatrist for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sheed would apply himself when he got angry! Sheed got a reputation with the referees for being a hothead. You don’t need the league in technical fouls for two seasons in a row. Sheed felt his emotional outburst didn’t cost the team wins. While in the playoffs the difference on winning or losing a game can come down to one or two bad possessions or plays.
Exactly! I was just thinking about that. I wish he had punched Rasheed in the mouth for that. What a sh*t teammate to do that.
I believe Sabonis is what Jokic is today combined with prime Marc Gasol. A do-it-all center that can make plays, stretch the floor, post-up, and even defend.
imagine if he cld come when he was younger! There was a rule in former SSSR amd former Yugoslavia that you cannot go play abroad before 27.years of age.
Sabonis is the Jokic of his time
Sabonis also played against way better big men
“Keep your eye on it at all time, cuz you never know when they hit you with that ball, yo”
Aka “ball don’t lie”
Damon, Bonzi, Steve Smith, Rasheed and Sabonis were some bad boys…
Facts throw zbo on there to 💯💯🔥🔥
99-00’ Blazers team was talented with Damon, Smitty, Pip, Sheed and Sabonis starting. Plus you had Greg Anthony, Bonzi, Detlef, Stacey Augmon, Brian Grant, and Jermaine O’Neal coming off the bench.
love sheed. love sabas. all love
One of the saddest moments is when Rasheed through the towel at his face bad look
Sabonis used to kill my Lakers back in the 2000's! Great memories and awesome player even tho he was past his prime.
He put up a lot of 33-12-9 against those laker squads
Hey Sheed, how about that towel throwing incident and when Sabonis threatened to kill you in the locker room???
99-01 blazers last time i kept up with basketball. Im 35 years old from Memphis. Haven't cared about a team since then other than the Grizzlies 2010-till now. I remember yelling out Sabonis name when i would shot a jumper , joking around everybody else yelling out J
I always felt he would have been one of the greatest ever. He was scary
Shame we didn't get him in his prime
Sabonis was a beast. One of best big men in his prime. There will never be a big like him. GOAT....
You trippin he not top 15center all time
@@cheetahturner4576 see that's how little you think, I'm not talking about just in America. Man y'all show how small y'all think. He was global before you were born son.
Most ignorant basketball guy, as many Americans thinks basketball is only NBA.. Basketball is much more, European basketball, International, Olympic games, world championship..Arvydas Sabonis Top 5 centers of All Times, not All NBA..
Sheed you my dawg but ima have to pause ⏸️ you for Sabonis busting you in the face.😅
Sabonis was amazing in Portland, the only way to imagine is to watch the highlights.
It's unfortunate the NBA did him wrong and let Shaq be that fat offensive foul machine he was.
Personally, I would take Sabonis in his youth over shaq coming out of LSU. Not to minimize anybody but he played today's game in the early 80's and probably could have been a bull in a China shop if he wanted to be.
We could not understand why they were drafting a Soviet in Portland and unfortunately we found out many years later, post Soviet mismanagement injuries exactly why. Rasheed got a bad rap that was undeserved. As a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers. We've witnessed the referees give big market Lakers team games that were dominated by the Blazers.
They were a damn good team and we still love those guys, except for Scottie Pippen. He was a lazy dog in heat and seems to still be.
Sheed is on something
Edibles 😅😂
Sabonis basically left the league after Sheed berated him.
Prime Arvydas was literally prime Jokic, only quicker and more athletic. By far the greatest "what if" case, because he was allowed to join the NBA way to late, when he was slow, heavily injured and broken.
It would have been really fun to watch Arvydas Sabonis play before the injuries because he was very athletic with leaping ability and could play above the rim, and a lot of people don't know that about him, and if he hadn't been hurt, it would have been a huge problem and a nightmare for a lot of people to go up against, especially in today's NBA. In conclusion, the Arvydas Sabonis that NBA fans have seen is merely a shadow of his former self.
Arvydas Sabonis had the whole basket court in his mind. A passer with the same skills on that matter as of Larry Bird, Stockton or Magic Johnson. Best big man passer ever
Arvydas is the greatest center of all time. He was better than Shaq. Injuries destroyed him, but in his prime, he was Jokic times 150%
If there was a lifetime movie about his life, Arvydas Sabonis would have been played by actor Howard Sherman.
Not your vydas, not my vydas Arvydas, one of the top 5 sportscenter calls back in the day. Dude was great with basically no knees
Prime Sabonis would have killed the league. The only dude who would be up to guarding him would be Hakeem. Maybe Mutumbo but only in the post.
Sabonis se rompió 2 veces el tendón de Aquiles;conocen a alguien que haya jugado después de 2 lesiones tan graves?.Tuve la suerte de verle antes y después de las lesiones;ya ko dijo el médico de Portland, está para que le den una discapacidad.
Still hate that game 7 loss to the Lakers in 2000. Blazers franchise would have gone in a better direction.
3:35 - everyone was looking for clones, there just weren't any.
and the warriors started fortifying what they had.
Smart basketball player, and we didnt see Sabonis until WELL after his prime.
That's what they said b4 he had knee problems probably jokic b4 jokic
He wouldn’t have been better than Shaq, or Ewing or Robinson, but he’d have been a hall of famer
I saw some video of a young pre injuries sabonis .. and man .. Imagine an athletic Jokic
Wallace is spot on.
Arvydas Sabonis might just have been the greatest non-American basketball player of all time when he was in his prime. There are videos here on UA-cam showing his amazing talents when he played for the Soviet Union. The Sabonis that played for Portland was- maybe- 60% of what he used to be.
He lacked the soviet PEDs in the US as well. There's a reason former soviet countries did so well on olympics
Why is every time I see clips of Mr Wallace he is high af ,,,, your eye my dude… put on some sunglasses
Sheed look and mannerism reminds me of Dave Chappelle
Sabonis was a monster in europe before his knees operation inthe us he was great and as someone said he jokic before jokic
Sabois is the best ever Euro player... Simple
On defense with shaq, sabonis uses his body while rasheed doin help defense
Some say he was as skilled as Olajuwan. Hakeem is the 🐐, so yeah! 😅
Rasheed was even better..most underrated player
.sorry
Biggest what if in NBA history. Euroleague mvp at 40 or 41, portland doctors said he could get handicapped parking spot when he came to the league finally. Still gave work. Comes from a nation that were the last pagans in Europe, had the longest crusades against them, before that pillaged vikings themselves. 4 players were starters in the soviet union basketball team from that little tiny nation, that caused the dream team. Even the strongman goat comes from that nation. Sabonis was something else when he was young, a legend of the old world.
I have his rookie card stop playing w me 😂
There was a debate for a while who was better, MJ or Sabonus