Arvydas Sabonis (27pts, 12rebs) vs Utah Jazz (1996 Playoffs)

After the Portland Trail Blazers lost first two games in Utah, Arvydas Sabonis led them to the victory in game 3 of the First Round against the Jazz in the 1996 Playoffs.

[@hanj31]

if this guy played in the nba during his prime he would be one of the best and portland would have 3-6 nba titles with him and he probably would have one quadruple double in his career in the nba!

[@GrahamCStrouse]

***** He'd be better than Love...and I really like Love. Sabonis was a 7'3" cen ter with a classic post-up game, great defensive and rebounding instincts, amazing passing skills & he was a stretch 5 before there were stretch 4s. Such an amazing player.

[@antonchizhov4419]

Sabonis was the original Unicorn, what a skillset he had on top of his incredible basketball IQ... great post game, a killer hookshot, all the speed and athleticism&agility a center could dream of, ability to patrol the paint on D; as well as a very efficient, remarkable jumper( especially considering, that the russian/ussr school of basketball emphasized the development of the same shooting technique for swings&guard&big men, due to this a lot of professional players had thier own unique, effective, but "unorthodox" shooting technique completely remade/erased by their butt-headed coaches on semi-professional level). Some of russian professional bball players still feel the ill post-effects of this... Take Kirilenko for example, he never became a proficient jumpshooter because of his fluent shot, which was developed in his school days, being raped and disformed later on by CSKA school of coaching

[@leonardobaracchi7040]

Have you ever seen a player being this decisive without being able to run and to jump??

[@MARIOROSSI-pg3qz]

When you go to play against a 7.3 300 pounds you are worried. When you see HOW he plays you are desperate. When he starts shooting 3s, you wanna go home

[@danielblumentritt9762]

Typical Karl Malone clutch play here. Gets blocked on a would-be GW layup (bailed out by bad call), bricks 2 free throws, commits dumb foul.

[@tnyamaneko6093]

A classic "Ball don't lie" moment.

[@paulsilas9070]

Sabonis was playing on guts & fortitude. He was a shell of what he was before he got to the NBA because of injuries.

[@gpxjimmy]

Karl Malone was so dirty, damn, he try to elbow Sabonis after his dunk had been blocked

[@Red4350]

forreal i peeped that...

[@ralphtijtgat3233]

5:50 Lolz! Ball don't lie! It gets even better... Sabonis ruled ass, he coulda pwned Shaq it there wasn't the whole Iron Curtain thing going on...

[@hiphop3170]

lmfao you have no clue what you are talking about...

[@jrdnruiz2]

Could pwned Shaq? He did pwn Shaq, when he was old and broken. Prime Sabonis would’ve cut shaqs legacy in half

[@juvserr]

The guy is blocking, scoring, and with two surgically repaired knees.. not to mention passing like a guard.. tragic that most Americans never got a chance to see him in his prime...as Walton said, Sabonis was a 7'3, 300 pound Larry Bird...

[@Defender80s]

This Man Was a Top 5 All Time Center Prior to 1987 Injury! He is Crippled Here and Look At What He Is Capable of Doing!

[@vincentas]

he may have had best hands of any center

[@Kuziai]

You can see a class in his play

[@Stickman786]

Peak Healthy Sabonis would be statistically a hakeem with little less defensive stats and could shoot the three. Imagine, 24-28 points 12-14 rebounds 4-5 assists 3.5 blocks 1.5 steals 54% from the field 34-40% from 3 and 80% from the line? Fuckin Hell.

[@C4pitalswank]

plus medical staff was shit compared to now.

[@danielblumentritt9762]

"as Walton said, Sabonis was a 7'3, 300 pound Larry Bird..." So basically Sabonis was Walton, although Walton is too humble to say that. Both guys were betrayed by foot/leg injuries... and Bird by back injuries.

[@jan279]

Wow, that's a perfect comparison! =)

[@GrahamCStrouse]

Well, except he was four inches taller than Walton...

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

Sabonis was a taller and stronger Walton, but yeah, same type of outstanding all around players. Damn injuries

[@aha3885]

@@GrahamCStrouse and the long shots. Two big difference for Sabonis, but I love Walton.

[@aha3885]

@@JulioLeonFandinho de vez en cuando veo tus comentarios en estos vídeos de basket vintage. Solemos coincidir, aunque en este caso, diría que Sabonis era superior a Walton en todo. Y mira que me encanta el hippie de Walton. Lo que pasa es que Arvydas era de otra especie. Más alto, mejor anotador, más rebote cuando el partido se ponía realmente serio, mejor visión de juego (walton era realmente bueno en esto. Pero es que Sabonis...), y además podía lanzar desde 7 metros. Quizá en defensa, el mejor Walton podría discutir al mejor Sabonis, al menos la X. Pero en el total del juego, no ha habido pivot tan dotado para el baloncesto como el Zar.

[@iansong320]

Wow Sabonis and Jokic game are so alike!! It’s crazy how not a lot of ppl compare the two.

[@gerdaslipnevicius5122]

Lithuania rules :)

[@henrytruong2596]

We need more players like Arvdas Sabonis. One of my all-time favorite players. 7 footer that could shoot, pass and defend. The ultimate triple threat for a center. Him alongside with Dirk Nowitski and Sam Perkins best long range shooters of all-time.

[@dralger]

Henry Truong It is a result of the European education of young talents. In the United States the young players neglect the basics. They dribble and jump but they forget to train the jump shot. Especially tall youngsters neglets the basic. Dwight Howard would never had a chance in European basketball. Another good example for a very good European center: Vlade Divac. He could everything: Passing, Shooting, Rebounding, Blocking... Sam Perkins no "long range shooter". He had three or four good seasons but that was a result of rule change: The three point line became closer to the basket.

[@henrytruong2596]

+dralger That's true, all we have are players that dunk dunk dunk. Not really a whole lot of substance.

[@decameronbih]

I miss defence...Today's basketball is not as quality as before....for me, of course....

[@rpra6435]

Fully agree

[@toppsballer]

Most skilled centers of all time (No order): Hakeem, Sabonis, Walton, Robinson, Kareem

[@rpra6435]

Agree with all except Robinson

[@arturogomez4381]

Which Robinson are u talking bout ?

[@qqw743]

I just got here. Update: Jokic.

[@plcustodian]

If only injuries, hadn't betrayed him, Sabonis definitely would've been more dominating, its sad that his injuries robbed him of some great years.

[@jmar28a]

The coach of the Soviet Union purposely over used him because he was jealous of Lithuania’s success compared to Russia, thus leading to his body wearing down before his time.

[@АндрейСтоянов-ю6м]

Тренер его использовал потому что была единая команда-СССР. И ни о какой Литве он не думал. Понятно?

[@danielblumentritt9762]

Was that PJ Carlesimo coaching the Trailblazers?

[@Jesse-zc5pg]

+Daniel Blumentritt yep

[@jasongCLJ]

Where is game 1 please ? ________.

[@zenonas7941]

Mūsų Sabonis- mūsų Lietuvos Dydis Sūnus !!!

[@אמרימלשטיין]

who won the game?

[@jkimva703]

אמרי מלשטיין Blazers

[@demarcotolson3763]

One of my favorite big guys definitely gotta worry about the 5 players in the starting line up from behind the arc

[@Ometecuhtli]

In which planet is that block at the end of the game a foul? Right, a league where "superstars" are considered bigger than the game.

[@deliaarmstrong4011]

Sabonis doesn't get the respect he should ❤

[@decjko]

Why did it take Sabonis a long time to make a debut after the 1986 draft?

[@judgeman6610]

_Dec.27.2018_ *Easy answer* (for us, Europeans). Soviet Union transfer limitations and his severe injuries...

[@virgilijusj374]

Because of communist's regime

[@hectorecasaus2022]

His rookie season should have been in 1990 when NBA players were allowed to play with their national teams

[@kidistight]

We were trying to convince our coworker how Sabonis was better than Dirk.

[@gurkansavkli5835]

i didnt watch Sabonis live unlike Dirk but it is obvious he was better than Dirk

[@mofohole]

the 90s had some real gd centers, but at the same time, there were a tons of crappy 1s too!