How good would Arvydas Sabonis have been in todays NBA?

[LuDux1]

i saw him play on tv before injury, after injury in europe (many times and live on the arena no less), and then in tv again on his blazers career.

he was great for the day but even before injury he would be slow for todays pace.
not to mention that his body frame was going to get him injured no matter what.

theres no " if he didnt injury" because his body was going to get him injury sooner or later no mtter what paralel dimension

Before major injuries he was 2nd fastest in Zalgiris in 60 meters dash after 6'6 SF. Small sample size, but still makes him faster than average player, guards including

basket players were slower than they are now back in the day.
and euro players were much much slower than nba players back in the day.

being second fastest in 80s zalgiris means nothing.

Healthy Sabonis would be so dominant he would single-handedly undo Curry's impact, duh

[Jonathan starks]

This guys one of the most overrated players in the history of the game. Enough about him already

[Mickey8]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.

[Capn'O]

Young Sabas could have dominated any time. Any place. I don't care who's around.

Old Sabas would have been fine. He was a bit like Marc Gasol.

[Mickey8]

This guys one of the most overrated players in the history of the game. Enough about him already

Agree. Especially myths of young Sabonis and how was he the best center ever seen lol

[UcanUwill]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.

I do agree that Sabonis' legend is exaggerated, but this is just laughable. Old Sabonis is basically Jokic with better hands and bigger, Sabas had GOAT hands IMO.

[Hellcrooner]

young sabonis is a rich mans Marc Gasol.

multiple times allstar if he went to nba in the 80s

some all league teams for sure.

[Mickey8]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.

I do agree that Sabonis' legend is exaggerated, but this is just laughable. Old Sabonis is basically Jokic with better hands and bigger, Sabas had GOAT hands IMO.

No way Sabonis had better hands and softest touch than Jokic , also whoever says that Sabonis was better passer than Jokic is flat out ignorant, just look the highlights of both man, Jokic has much more creative passes from every possible angle on the court, when all is said and done, Jokic will be way ahead of Sabonis as basketball legend.

[Soulcatcher33]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.

If you actually think Jokic is a better scorer than Sabonis was you really haven't seen much of Sabonis. Jokic is barely better (if better at all) than an early NBA sabonis at 31+ with two busted knees. He's not even close to a Sabonis in his prime as a scorer.

If Sabonis had stayed healthy and came to the NBA early he'd likely be under the Hakeem, Shaq, Drob level, but above that Ewing, Zo level. A clear great and HOF center either way.

[UcanUwill]

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.

I do agree that Sabonis' legend is exaggerated, but this is just laughable. Old Sabonis is basically Jokic with better hands and bigger, Sabas had GOAT hands IMO.

No way Sabonis had better hands and softest touch than Jokic , also whoever says that Sabonis was better passer than Jokic is flat out ignorant, just look the highlights of both man, Jokic has much more creative passes from every possible angle on the court, when all is said and done, Jokic will be way ahead of Sabonis as basketball legend.

Sabonis' hands are unhuman. Its like a magnet, I have never seen him humble, he could catch anything with a single hand. His touch around the rim is GOAT level too. I love Jokic, I think he is best passing migman ever, and yes his touch and hands are elite, but not on Sabonis level

Look at a stuff he catches.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[Dominator83]

This guys one of the most overrated players in the history of the game. Enough about him already

I agree. Let's start another Lebron, Warriors, or KD thread

[cruwinas]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

His rim protection was elite, but he would be exposed on pick and rolls.

Right... His wingspan was huge, moved well laterally on the perimeter, if the guard beat him off the dribble- chase down block.

Sabas in his prime: a lot of of Wilt (size and strength), Kristaps Porzingis - shooting touch, Kareem (Sabas hook shot was UNBLOCKABLE), and plenty of Magic (passing).
Guys, I'm talking about "prime Sabas" - just couple years, he even never peaked out. He tore his Achilles tendon completely once, got patched up - tore again. End of story. Oh, and I first time saw Sabas playing life in 1980. And almost never missed a home game of "Žalgiris". I was a young kid, first time my father took me to the Kauno Halė when I was 4???. Porzingis is OK, but Sabas had much wider shoulders.

Enough. He is the legend. Like El Dorado. Maybe existed, maybe not.

When USSR team took a trip around the USA they played a game against the Georgetown University with Patrick Ewing. During the warm-ups Ewing with the dunk shattered the board. Guess what, payback is z bleep. Sabas used to go berserk if someone was challenging him. He finished the game with somethin 25/15/5/5.And he was an ultimate team player.
I watched him before the injuries playing against Mourning, Divac... Robinson (after the first injury).
Yep, those years the stair steps were made not to accommodate the size of a giants feet. One slip - .............

In today's NBA healthy Sabas:
Elite defensive rebounder and rim protector.
Offense - almost unguardable in the paint, exceptional passer, good shooter..
Best thing - defensive rebound and first pass to transition offense. Killer.

Whatever. I'm too old for "what if's". Now the preparation, training, medical supervision, living style is day and night different from 1980's. It's like with Olympic long jump record set in 1968 in Mexico by Bob Beamon. 8.90 meters. World record become new in 1991 when Powell jumped 8.95 m. 50 years old and still unbeaten in Olympics, and in the World - bested by one guy by only 5 cm, or 2 inches.

By the way, Sabas was measured at 225 cm. Without socks.

Some things in life are called "phenomena". For a reason.

Sabonis then, before the injury:

Watch on YouTube

And just now, typical mid-court hook shot:

https://www.lrytas.lt/sportas/krepsinis/2018/06/26/news/arvydas-sabonis-ir-vel-parode-klase-kablys-nuo-vidurio-aikstes-6762764/

Adios.

[Jonathan starks]

This guys one of the most overrated players in the history of the game. Enough about him already

I agree. Let's start another Lebron, Warriors, or KD thread

There are plenty of players of yesteryear that were better than him. They don’t get nearly the attention he gets.

[IgorK]

Preface: I'm an unapologetic Sabonis fan. He is the greatest international basketball player ever IMO.

If USSR didn't basically run him into the ground early on, he would've lasted longer and gotten a chance to show he was a top-5 talent in the NBA.

[ProcessMeUpFam]

Once every 6 months on RealGM there is a thread overrating prime Sabonis. He would be very good, a superstar top 5-10 player in the league. A better shooting and passing Kareem!?!? A case for GOAT!?!?

[LuDux1]

Preface: I'm an unapologetic Sabonis fan. He is the greatest international basketball player ever IMO.

If USSR didn't basically run him into the ground early on, he would've lasted longer and gotten a chance to show he was a top-5 talent in the NBA.

To be fair he sometimes played not fully healed for Zalgiris too

[lobosloboslobos]

i don't understand how there is really any discussion about his greatness. obviously any discussion of his lost potential is open-ended because of his serious injuries (mostly the result of terrible treatment by his Soviet medical staff who pushed him back way too early) but honestly, to guys who say he is overrated how you can say that after watching this? note that he is up against David Robinson here:

Watch on YouTube

[cruwinas]

Once every 6 months on RealGM there is a thread overrating prime Sabonis. He would be very good, a superstar top 5-10 player in the league. A better shooting and passing Kareem!?!? A case for GOAT!?!?

Find an article in "New York Times", issue of 1995 end of October - beginning of November and read what USA professional sport journalist wrote.
And end up with these ???? marks. You are just not informed well enugh to make a professional evaluation. Find an article, post it here and we could continue discussion. Who is the best? To me, one of candidates is Wilt, another - MJ, another - Magic, the list goes on. It's impossible to compare The Greatness. Who is the better painter, Gauguin or Michelangelo? It's pointless. Some of us can just say, that we met a Bigfoot. But, did we???

[cruwinas]

Young Sabas could have dominated any time. Any place. I don't care who's around.

Old Sabas would have been fine. He was a bit like Marc Gasol.

Exactly. Maybe Wilt could overpower him, but Sabas would try to out-fox him.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

The Jokic comp is a joke. Young Sabas played Hakeem level defense. Picture a better shooting & passing Kareem. The guy had the whole package, that is how good he was.

Sabonis has nothing on Jokic except size and some athleticism when he was a teen lol, he was never athletic after an injury , Jokic is way more talented offensive player, better passer,better scorer, rebounder , he's basically pg for Denver, which has one of the best offenses in the NBA So Sabonis from the 90's would have minutes equal to Marjanovic, he would be so slow for today's game.