" ...nicknamed "Sabas", number eleven..."    "That guy without his injuries,       would have been better than David Robinson. Believe me, he was that good.  In 1985, he was a beast.  He ran the floor like Ralph Sampson, could shoot the three, dunk.  He would have  been a NBA all-star ten years in a row.  It's true I tell you."    -Dino Radja, former Boston Celtic  

"... the starting center for the Portland Trailblazers..."                     Prior to the NBA, "Sabas" led the Soviet National Team to a gold medal in the1988 Olympic Games in Seoul against a United States team that featured future all-stars such as David Robinson, Mitch Richmond, and Danny Manning.  Then in 1992, the year of the "Dream Team", Sabonis helped the Lithuanian team to a bronze medal in Barcelona.  In 1985, at age nineteen he headed the Soviets to gold medals at the European Championships and the World University Games.  During his 11-year career in the Soviet Union and Spanish leagues, he has led his teams to 5 league championships, including 3 consecutive in the USSR league.  He has been named European Player of the Year five times by a myriad of publications. Drafted in 1985 by the Atlanta Hawks, Sabonis was too young and declared uneligible. Then in 1986, the Portland Trailblazers made him their 1st round pick (24th pick).  Due to political restraints Arvydas was not able to come to the United States until 1989, but at that time thought he was not ready (by this time he had had multiple injuries and surgeries to his achilles tendons, knees, and ankles).  So he spent the next 6 years in the Spanish league collecting more championships, awards, titles, and praise. And then finally in 1996, he decided he was going to the NBA

  "He can do what most big men can't.  He can shoot  outside, he can score inside, and he can make  passes, I'm not talking passes when you get double  teamed, that's the easy pass.  I'm talking about  guys cutting in traffic, making a nice bounce pass  for the score.  He has a real good feel for the game,  the whole game, and you can't teach that."                                                                               -Magic Johnson, assessing Sabonis' game

                                                      Coming to the NBA, Sabonis was praised by teammates, recognized by coaches, and was a fan favorite in his inaugural season. "At the beginning of the season, if you weren't paying attention, he'd hit you in the head or something with it. You've got to be ready." said Harvey Grant, first-year teammate. During his first season, he was selected to play in the mid-season rookie all-star game.  Playing only four minutes, Arvydas managed 8 points and 4 rebounds, before heading to the bench, opting to rest his legs.  Throughout his rookie season, Sabonis averaged 14.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg, shot .545 from the field (7th best in the NBA) and .375 from behind the arc in only 22.8 minutes a game, all the while coming off the bench. In addition, the second half of the 1995-96 season was even stronger.  He was named rookie of the month for April and after averaging 20.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg, and 2.0 apg was named NBA Player of the Week on March 31.  And when he was placed in the starting lineup for the last 21 games of the season, Portland went 18-3.  With these impressive statistics and awards, Sabas made the all-rookie team and was runner-up to both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man awards. Sabonis also was the only rookie to finish in the top ten in all rookie categories.  

                  Sabonis' strong second half continued into the playoffs.  Portland was a major underdog against the midwest champion Utah Jazz.  Behind Sabas' 23.6 ppg and 10.2 rpg,Portland pushed the Jazz to five games and to the brink of elimination, before losing.  The 1996-97 season was not as successful as his rookie season.  Sharing time in the pivot with Chris Dudley, Arvydas averaged 13.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.22 bpg, and 0.91 spg, all this in a little over half a game (25.5 minutes a game).  Although posting lower numbers than the previous season, Sabonis managed career highs in points (33 vs. Dallas) and rebounds (17 vs. Minnesota).  Sabas' second playoff appearance, like the 1996-97 season paled in comparison to his first year, averaging only 11.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg against the overpowering Shaquille O'Neal.

                   This season has been Sabonis' best, Sabas has been playing much more under Mike Dunleavy and has shown in his statistics. This year he averaged 16 ppg, 10 rpg (good for 10th overall in the NBA), 3.0 apg (leading all NBA centers), 1.1 bpg, and 1.0 spg. At the all-star break, Portland was 5th overall in the Western conference and Sabonis was getting all-star consideration. All-star consideration in a conference that boasts Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and the ever-skilless Shaquille O'Neal locked onto the all-star roster shows the appreciation by the coaches for his skills.  Those hopes were dashed when Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were voted into the starting lineup (Kobe at the time was not deserving, and KG not the most deserving on his team, Gugliotta and Marbury deserved it more). So the hope of Arvydas making the all-star team went from good to none (along with other deserving players such as Abdur-Rahim, Shrempf, Barkley, Drexler, Willis, Rider, and Stockton).  At the end of the season, Sabonis received some votes for the all-NBA teams for the first time.

                   His third playoff experience found him matched up against the powerful Shaq and again he made Sabonis look every one of his 34 years.  Flustering Sabas pretty much to making him a non-factor (and flustering me to no point).  I hate watching Sabas 6 times a year and having to deal with the frustration of his foul trouble and lack of playing time in 4 of those games.  Then other so-called Portland "fans" complaining about Sabonis.  I look at it this way, Shaq played 13 playoff games (4 against Portland) and averaged 30 some ppg.  Shaq did not average 90+ points against Sabonis (although it seemed like it at times), he killed Seattle even more and Utah just as much.  THERE IS NO ONE PERSON IN THE NBA THAT CAN STOP SHAQ's PHYSICAL AND ATHLETICISM, so stop complaining about his defense and complain about his non-existant offense during the series.  I love watching Arvydas Sabonis play, but I am also a realist.

  "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 them 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/current coach

                                                                                                                                                                             "...Arvydas Sabonis? ...fun."                                                                                                                                :  : A Nike Fun Police commercial                                                                                                                                           /dwf*underground/May1998