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It's hard to tell. Sabonis prime years were wasted against far inferior compe ion. Impossible to make a comparison
Arvydas Sabonis
Kevin Garnett
First of all, I would like to commend Kori for putting the Mavs Krew in their proper place. The calf tats/pedophile/Paki has definitely run its course and it doesn't have anything to do with basketball at all. Great job Kori and I hope that my name gets bolded soon.
Moving on, here's the question: If you're going to compare a prime Arvydas Sabonis and a prime Kevin Garnett, who's the better player?
Kevin Garnett is surely in the mix when it comes to the best power forwards of all time along with Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. His athleticism, mid-range game, and overall versatility is only topped by a man named Hakeem Olajuwon. On top of that, he can anchor the defensive end as well as anybody. No doubt, he's a first ballot Hall of Fame.
Arvydas Sabonis meanwhile is quite an anomaly. We never had the chance to see him play in his prime back in the 80s. When he jumped into the NBA at age 31 in 1995, he averaged 23.6 points and over 10 rebounds in the playoffs. The thing about him is that he did all those fantastic things right after several injuries during his younger years. He's also one of the few who can hold his own against a prime Shaq and he did all of that when he was 35.
In his younger years, Sabonis was an athletic freak gifted with a pinpoint passing ability, superb handles, and decent outside shooting. Skillwise, he might be the greatest player over 7'3.
So the question now is, who's the better player in their prime? Kevin Garnett or Arvydas Sabonis?
Last edited by ezau; 07-30-2010 at 08:28 PM.
It's hard to tell. Sabonis prime years were wasted against far inferior compe ion. Impossible to make a comparison
The dude beat the 88 US team that had David Robinson.
What the ?..I agree..
I was a fan of Sabonis, even when he was past his prime and killed with injuries during his NBA time..he was still an elite passer for a big man, even with Portland..he was a huge part in that memorable series vs. Dallas where they almost came back from 3-0 IIRC..he's massive, too..
Obviously his reputation became stronger with how he outplayed a young David Robinson, and with guys like Bill Walton talking about how great of a player he is/was..
Obviously you can't compare though..his career is still an "IF" for the most part due to his compe ion and injuries, while Garnett is a former MVP that was the best player in the NBA at one point IMO..
this comparison is the epitome of einstein basketball talk. a player 1 vs player 2 thread, not to mention the x factor keyword 'prime' definitely rasing the bar and good talk lol not
timvp running wild
nice dead wife
Yeah and that Greek cuckold V-Span beat the US worlds team in 2006 that was stacked, does that mean he's better than Lebron?
The 06 US team failed to defend the pick and roll. Somebody said something about Sabonis playing against "inferior" compe ion back in the 80s. I don't think you can mention D-Rob and the word inferior in the same sentence
Unless you're comparing his play to that of Olajuwon's in the 1995 Western conference finals!
either one of them> a dead wife, imo
Oh, the same year he won the MVP? Boom roasted!Unless you're comparing his play to that of Olajuwon's in the 1995 Western conference finals!
I was kidding tbh.
I personally think we didn't see enough of Sabonis in the NBA to put him above KG, not really fair to KG.
To be fair Hakeem slapped the Suns in back to back year then too.Unless you're comparing his play to that of Olajuwon's in the 1995 Western conference finals!
Goddamn Horry/Cassell in 94, Goddamn Elie in 95! ERRRRR
What an odd comparison. This thread is like a giant sandwich that is too big for your mouth. I have no idea how to approach it. Oh, and the sandwich has sun dried tomatoes on it and I hate those.
I am going to vote for V-Das because I hate Garnett and I want to see the poll results.
The Suns slapped themselves more than anything else in 1995. They built a 3-1 lead and then Barkley started to play 36 holes of golf and go out drinking with Majerle the day before games. They thought they had the series won (even AC Green said it was over) and sure even that at ude lost it and led to the implosion of that team.
lol
Next time you tell that story, work in the fact that Hakeem averaged 30, 12, and 6 over the last three games (according to Basketball Reference), into the narrative. Besides, Barkley averaged 23 and 19 over the final three anyways (according to Basketball Reference).
Actually, I don't remember much about those series except I think for the kiss of death (iirc) and KJ challenging Hakeem for dunks/layups to mixed results. Plus, Hakeem was in beast mode as usual for time period. Truthfully, that Suns team made a habit of choking up leads to that Rockets team. Underestimated the heart of a champion tbh.
Yeah, notice how any semblance of defense they were playing on Olajuwon stopped after game 4? Don't you think being hungover and fatigued would hurt defense a little bit? Charles Barkley can grab tons of rebounds in his sleep, his play dropped off hugely after game 4 on all other aspects of the game. That Suns team made a habit of coasting once they thought it was in hand, and they also had the problem of an "Act now, think later" approach to defense, Barkley moreso than anyone. That "Act now, think later" approach is what led to Paxson being wide open in 1993 and Elie being wide open in 1995. Call it Houston's "heart of a champion" if you want, but I see it more as Phoenix lacking the heart of a champion, and also the fact had been one of their best players that season prior to his injury. If he stays healthy the Suns win it all in 95.
Even though Dream averaged 30 over those 3 games, that pales in comparison to what he averaged against Mr. Bible in the conference finals.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...505240SAS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...505260HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...505300SAS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...506010HOU.html
4 out of 6 games he scored 39+ points, and all 4 of those games he shot above 58% from the field, yeah, I'd say that's a little worse than what he did to the Suns a round prior in games 5, 6, and 7.
As you know, he was motivated to work the pimp hand strong from witnessing the MVP ceremonies in the WCF. But Basketball Reference says his best games in the Suns series scoring wise were 3 & 4. Either way I can barely remember those series so its not fair for me to talk about them.
I just remember him owning the complete out of Joe Kleine on multiple occasions when they were dumb enough to put him in the game.
As most of you, I never watch Sabonis play in his prime. But the way he's talked about, like a European Jordan at 7'3, in his prime Sabonis might have been better than any NBA big man in the history of the game except probably a prime Wilt and a prime Hakeem. So it's interesting to choose KG to compare him. Could have gone with Wilt, Hakeem, Kareem, Shaq, Duncan, Moses, Robinson, etc. I'm not sure why KG was the choice.
I'm like most, it's impossible for me to tell having not watched Sabonis in his prime. However, I'd lean more towards choosing Sabonis. And as I suggested above, I'd probably lean towards a prime Sabonis against any of the great big men in the history of the NBA other than a prime Wilt and a prime Hakeem. It's still just a guess though.
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