Imagine if Sabonis was allowed to play college ball during the early 80s. In this game, he was a high school senior. He would had been in competition with MJ, Ewing, Hakeem, Worthy, Perkins, of course Ralph Sampson.
I saw this game on TV. Virginia won but it took them 2OT to win, Sabonis outscored Sampson 21 to 13 but Sampson grabbed 25 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Fine upload - 2 of the great what ifs in nba history and both hall of famers. I bet at this point they had never faced an opponent like what they saw on this night
Great footage. Sabonis wasn't quite as aggressive offensively and not nearly as strong as he became later. Sampson looked very strong and confident but didn't shoot very well. This might be the first time I saw Sampson in college. He was a beast.
Kind of funny to see a young skinny Sabonis . I love watching Sampson's ferocity when he rebounds, and I like Sabonis passing and fundamental around the basket. This match up is way more competitive and interesting than Sabonis vs David Robinson in the Olympic clips I just saw before this. In that clip Robinson seemed soft or intimidated for some reason, which irritated me, haha. Thx for posting this way better giant battle!
Τhis is the earliest footage we have from Sabonis, one month before his 18th birthday. Indeed, his basketball qualities are already evident. I wonder, are there any more videos from that tour of the USSR team over US in November 1982? I couldn`t find any on UA-cam. This video, by the way, misses an impressive stop he did on Sampson, who was taller and older and more athletic than him. Sampson himself did a couple of stops on Sabonis as well. The whole game is available on youtube, complete with vintage tv commercials and announcements of next episode of ''Dynasty'' tv serial! At the beginning, there is a special mention about Sabonis and Sampson, as outstanding players of their teams. ua-cam.com/video/WvvzW29VT7g/v-deo.html
Two great what-might-have-been players. Both of their careers never recovered from repeated leg injuries, their coaches ran them to hard and didn't give them enough time to recover
Sabonis was becoming the best big man ever until injuries to his legs reduced him to a shell of himself, even so, he was still a productive player in the NBA.
Sabonis gelmiş geçmiş skora her durumda etki edebilen tek baketbolcudur .hayranları dünyanın tümünde mevcuttur. ABD li basketbol severlerin sabonis in gelip ABD de turnuva yapmasını ne derece istediğini hatırlıyorum
@celal tapan Ralph Sampson'a da yazık oldu , kısa sürdü kariyeri , oynadığı dönemde önemli bir figürdü nba'da. İlk kez gördüğüm bu videoda görebildiğim kadarıyla Rus milli takımı biraz daha olgun bir basketbol oynuyor. Sanırım 4 numara pozisyonundaki Belosteny'yi de sürekli Sabonis'in yanında oynatıyorlardı o dönemde. Sabonis & Sampson match up'ında ise denk kuvvetler şeklinde görebildim. Genç yaşına rağmen Sabonis'in iyi bir fundamental'i olduğu gozlemleniyorken Sampson biraz daha güce dayalı oynuyor. Hayırlı akşamlar diliyorum , saygılar...
We revered him when I was a kid. Usually tye 1st name i say when soeaking on international greats. We know him very well. As a Hoosier I wish his son was more like him 😆
Umm we had Sabonis in America. It's called the NBA. Ever heard of it? Yes, Arvy was well past his peak and the Achilles was what it was but even your description is describing the version we had in America anyway.
que hubiera sido de esos 2 monstruos del baloncesto sin las lesiones tan graves ,tanto sabonis como sampson tuvieron lesiones gravísimas ,con sampson prácticamente acabo con su carrera ,sabonis era buenísimo y tenia muchísima inteligencia y eso a pesar de volverse mas lento le salvo teniendo una muy buena carrera en porlan de los 31 años a los 39 años
@@sabonistkachenko8778 appreciate it, although you wouldnt like what im using it for but im a big SOviet basketball fan. I love Volkov wish there was more of him here too and Sarunas
17 years old....217 cm, against a outcome profesional Ralph 219 cm. Who would think that in 4 years Sabas would be 222 cm an way way better and stronger than Sampson...who;s career ended let's be honest in 1988.
la universidad de virginia debía ser una muy buen equipo ganar a la unión soviética el autentico coco en Europa no estaba al alcance de casi nadie ,en aquella época la única selección que podía darle guerra en Europa era Yugoslavia que tenían un equipo buenísimo con muchísimo talento ,los yugoslavos si tenían buen equipo de baloncesto en balonmano eran extraordinarios jamás en ningún deporte a habido alguien con tanto talento en ningún deporte como Yugoslavia en balonmano a mediados de los 80
@@doubletroubledad1323 young Mark Eaton claimed that he's 7'3.75 barefoot (I think that later he was a legit 7'4). He was asked about Sampson and said that Ralph is a little over 7'1. Sampson was little taller than Kareem who was 7'2 barefoot so I think he could have been 7'2.5 the most.
Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
@@doubletroubledad1323 Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
@@andrzejzborowski4920 Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
sabonis is 4 years younger, practically kid in this footage. His prime came when he was like 22. That sabonis would totally destroy this sampson. He was taller few inches and had bigger body by 1986
It was Ralph Sampson, a grown man already and David Robinson who was same age as Sabas. Those are 2 all-time great big men and centers. If anything, this just shows how insane of any athlete Sabas was, carrying that Soviet team.
You saw a team of the best players in the entire Soviet Union play a good college team. Had it been a fair matchup, it would have been the NCAA All Star team versus the Soviet Union. Then, it would not have been close.
Sabonis here in 1982 is just a kid, just 17 yers old boy...7'0,5" not 7'2" and 235 pounds. Sampson never was 7'4", he was 7'2,5". We all know it. Will grow, will get stronger and in 1986 will be 7'3" and 270 pounds
When us college basketball was the second strongest competition in the world and could keep up with the all mighty professional USSR.thats the nba moder problem,college basketball don't bring up the best players anymore.money talks shit walks.sad
At that time there were no professional players in the USSR. The USA college players played against welders, carpenters, engineers, accountants. For playing basketball they got very little amount of money, so they had to have another jobs and had very little time for practice.
@@mikjord what an idiot you are. The fundamentals are there. Just because they can do shit you couldn’t even dream of doing doesn’t mean they’re killing the game. They’re growing it. Get with the times. The game is changing. No more sky hooks old man we got 3 pointers now.
@@AcidLTU Technically you are right. But in practice all USSR elite athletes of that era were "under-cover" professionals. They would have an "official" job (often in the military) but would spend their days practicing.
wish sabonis would have had more years in the nba and sampson as well .
Imagine if Sabonis was allowed to play college ball during the early 80s. In this game, he was a high school senior. He would had been in competition with MJ, Ewing, Hakeem, Worthy, Perkins, of course Ralph Sampson.
I saw this game on TV. Virginia won but it took them 2OT to win, Sabonis outscored Sampson 21 to 13 but Sampson grabbed 25 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Fine upload - 2 of the great what ifs in nba history and both hall of famers. I bet at this point they had never faced an opponent like what they saw on this night
Amazing upload! I've never seen this before.
Thanks!!
Great footage. Sabonis wasn't quite as aggressive offensively and not nearly as strong as he became later. Sampson looked very strong and confident but didn't shoot very well. This might be the first time I saw Sampson in college. He was a beast.
its because at that time sabonis is around 17-18 years old and sampson is around 21-22 years old
@@kullaong5242 Yes. 3-4 years makes a big difference at that age.
@@AndyZach yup its like a man vs a teen
Kind of funny to see a young skinny Sabonis . I love watching Sampson's ferocity when he rebounds, and I like Sabonis passing and fundamental around the basket. This match up is way more competitive and interesting than Sabonis vs David Robinson in the Olympic clips I just saw before this.
In that clip Robinson seemed soft or intimidated for some reason, which irritated me, haha. Thx for posting this way better giant battle!
David Robinson was always soft lol.
Τhis is the earliest footage we have from Sabonis, one month before his 18th birthday. Indeed, his basketball qualities are already evident. I wonder, are there any more videos from that tour of the USSR team over US in November 1982? I couldn`t find any on UA-cam. This video, by the way, misses an impressive stop he did on Sampson, who was taller and older and more athletic than him. Sampson himself did a couple of stops on Sabonis as well. The whole game is available on youtube, complete with vintage tv commercials and announcements of next episode of ''Dynasty'' tv serial! At the beginning, there is a special mention about Sabonis and Sampson, as outstanding players of their teams. ua-cam.com/video/WvvzW29VT7g/v-deo.html
Historical video !! 👌
Two great what-might-have-been players. Both of their careers never recovered from repeated leg injuries, their coaches ran them to hard and didn't give them enough time to recover
Sabonis was becoming the best big man ever until injuries to his legs reduced him to a shell of himself, even so, he was still a productive player in the NBA.
Sabonis at 18 was ready to be top 5 center in NBA. Ralph was 4 years older and was sweating to compete with the Lithuanian legend
Imagine the teams that the USSR and Yugoslavia would have if they didn’t dissolve???
Dont
Smooth shot Sabonis
great footage!!
Sabonis gelmiş geçmiş skora her durumda etki edebilen tek baketbolcudur .hayranları dünyanın tümünde mevcuttur. ABD li basketbol severlerin sabonis in gelip ABD de turnuva yapmasını ne derece istediğini hatırlıyorum
@celal tapan Ralph Sampson'a da yazık oldu , kısa sürdü kariyeri , oynadığı dönemde önemli bir figürdü nba'da. İlk kez gördüğüm bu videoda görebildiğim kadarıyla Rus milli takımı biraz daha olgun bir basketbol oynuyor. Sanırım 4 numara pozisyonundaki Belosteny'yi de sürekli Sabonis'in yanında oynatıyorlardı o dönemde. Sabonis & Sampson match up'ında ise denk kuvvetler şeklinde görebildim. Genç yaşına rağmen Sabonis'in iyi bir fundamental'i olduğu gozlemleniyorken Sampson biraz daha güce dayalı oynuyor. Hayırlı akşamlar diliyorum , saygılar...
to those of you in America:
Think of Sabonis as a 7'4" Dirk Nowitzki, with Jason Kid's handles and court vision.
We revered him when I was a kid. Usually tye 1st name i say when soeaking on international greats. We know him very well. As a Hoosier I wish his son was more like him 😆
@@m.m9936
Global greats?! Sabonis has to be Top5
Umm we had Sabonis in America. It's called the NBA. Ever heard of it?
Yes, Arvy was well past his peak and the Achilles was what it was but even your description is describing the version we had in America anyway.
Sabonis a beast
que hubiera sido de esos 2 monstruos del baloncesto sin las lesiones tan graves ,tanto sabonis como sampson tuvieron lesiones gravísimas ,con sampson prácticamente acabo con su carrera ,sabonis era buenísimo y tenia muchísima inteligencia y eso a pesar de volverse mas lento le salvo teniendo una muy buena carrera en porlan de los 31 años a los 39 años
Biriukov!!!
It'd be awesome if you could post this game in full. i would highly appreciate it. Please! PRetty please lol
ua-cam.com/video/_zy96WWTLLc/v-deo.html
@@sabonistkachenko8778 appreciate it, although you wouldnt like what im using it for but im a big SOviet basketball fan. I love Volkov wish there was more of him here too and Sarunas
looks like Sampson get more than 20 rebounds in this game
17 years old....217 cm, against a outcome profesional Ralph 219 cm. Who would think that in 4 years Sabas would be 222 cm an way way better and stronger than Sampson...who;s career ended let's be honest in 1988.
WTF no 3pt line in a 1982's game?...
la universidad de virginia debía ser una muy buen equipo ganar a la unión soviética el autentico coco en Europa no estaba al alcance de casi nadie ,en aquella época la única selección que podía darle guerra en Europa era Yugoslavia que tenían un equipo buenísimo con muchísimo talento ,los yugoslavos si tenían buen equipo de baloncesto en balonmano eran extraordinarios jamás en ningún deporte a habido alguien con tanto talento en ningún deporte como Yugoslavia en balonmano a mediados de los 80
best center ever!!
How Sapson could have been 7'4 if he's smaller than 18 years old 7'2 (later 7'3) Sabonis??
Yeah, his height was greatly exaggerated. Mark Eaton, who was a legit 7’4, estimated Samoson to be just over 7’1, which sounds about right.
@@doubletroubledad1323 young Mark Eaton claimed that he's 7'3.75 barefoot (I think that later he was a legit 7'4). He was asked about Sampson and said that Ralph is a little over 7'1. Sampson was little taller than Kareem who was 7'2 barefoot so I think he could have been 7'2.5 the most.
Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
@@doubletroubledad1323 Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
@@andrzejzborowski4920 Sampson was never close to 7 "4". He was 7"1" and someone in the media made a mistake. Virginia used that to get more media and Tv coverage for Ralph and the team also. Watch his HOF speech, Kareem is easily 2 inches taller. Eaton, who never lies, has stated that Sampson was about 7"1"
sabonis is 4 years younger, practically kid in this footage. His prime came when he was like 22. That sabonis would totally destroy this sampson. He was taller few inches and had bigger body by 1986
Sabas' prime came when he was 20-21.
Someone explain me how the soviets lost to an university. Must be an U-20 team I suppose.
It was Ralph Sampson, a grown man already and David Robinson who was same age as Sabas. Those are 2 all-time great big men and centers.
If anything, this just shows how insane of any athlete Sabas was, carrying that Soviet team.
Those USSR surgeons did a number on that knee(s).
Sabonis EAT Sampson !
Sabonis was 218..stlill growing - till 222. Sampson was never more than 219. Never
I saw a young Sabonis feasting over a young (but older) Sampson.
You saw a team of the best players in the entire Soviet Union play a good college team. Had it been a fair matchup, it would have been the NCAA All Star team versus the Soviet Union. Then, it would not have been close.
Sampson had 25 rebounds and 9 blocked shots dude.
Feasted on free throws. Got a couple open shots. Samson didn't shoot outside much in these clips but he was very capable.
💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕
It ends with tied score in second overtime!!!!
Sabonis at 18 was equal to the best college player at that time... plus he didn't have Sampson's poor temperament.
Soviet team were an underage team .. all college tage ...the oldest 22 ..at the time ...euro competition had an u23 competition ...
This is baby sabonis
Even at this age, Sabonis is levels above Sampson.
Level.....only 1. Wish both had stayed healthy
Sabas would have obviously been a top 10 all time great hadn't been for the injuries.
Sampson would have obviously been a top 5 all time great hadn't been for the injuries
Speed, jumping power, technic is best (high of a move)
Τσαμπερλειν
Τζαμπαρ
Σαμπονις
Οι τρεις μεγαλύτεροι σέντερ όλων των εποχων
Sabonis here in 1982 is just a kid, just 17 yers old boy...7'0,5" not 7'2" and 235 pounds. Sampson never was 7'4", he was 7'2,5". We all know it. Will grow, will get stronger and in 1986 will be 7'3" and 270 pounds
You know nothing about basketball
I hated UVA and Ralph so much I wanted the USSR to win.
UVA won 94-87
When us college basketball was the second strongest competition in the world and could keep up with the all mighty professional USSR.thats the nba moder problem,college basketball don't bring up the best players anymore.money talks shit walks.sad
That's right sir. The lack of basketball fundamentals developed in College is killing today's NBA.
At that time there were no professional players in the USSR. The USA college players played against welders, carpenters, engineers, accountants. For playing basketball they got very little amount of money, so they had to have another jobs and had very little time for practice.
@@mikjord what an idiot you are. The fundamentals are there. Just because they can do shit you couldn’t even dream of doing doesn’t mean they’re killing the game. They’re growing it. Get with the times. The game is changing. No more sky hooks old man we got 3 pointers now.
The competition is just better today. 70 percent of the players in the 80s and 90s wouldnt even be signed in an nba team today.
@@AcidLTU Technically you are right. But in practice all USSR elite athletes of that era were "under-cover" professionals. They would have an "official" job (often in the military) but would spend their days practicing.
@ great centers,,Samson rebounding like Wilt gave him lessons!
The Russians lost.
Only a few Russians in that lineup. Either they were Lithuanians, Latvians or Ukrainians