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I really wish he would have come over before all of his injuries. Even a crippled Sabonis was pretty darn good.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/in...ry-marred.html
New Jersey Nets Kendall Gill puts up shot against Trail Balzer Aryvdas Sabonis
Former Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis never liked to think about how great he could have been had injuries not ravaged his body.
"I would talk to him on the taping table about the past and his foot, and he would get extremely angry. He didn't like talking about it," Blazers athletic trainer Jay Jensen said. "He knew he could have been so much better, and he was irritated about that."
Even so, Sabonis was good enough before and after his injuries that he was among the inductees named Monday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The class of 2011, which will be formally inducted in Springfield, Mass. in August, will include Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin and a trio of coaching legends: Tex Winter, innovator of the "Triangle" offense, Stanford women's coach Tara VanDerveer and Philadelphia University's Herb Magee.
Longtime NBA and ABA center Artis Gilmore and Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards will also be inducted along with Harlem Globetrotter Reece "Goose" Tatum and Boston Celtic Tom "Satch" Sanders.
Sabonis led the Soviet Union to the gold medal in the 1988 Olympics, and led Lithuania to the bronze in the 1992 Olympics. While playing in the Soviet Union and Spain, he was named the European Player of the Year four times.
He was drafted by the Blazers in 1986 with the 24th overall pick, but didn't come to Portland until 1995, when he was 31 years old.
By then, he was hobbled by past injuries, particularly a ruptured Achilles' tendon and a severely arthritic foot. The foot was operated on in Spain before he came to Portland, and became infected. It became a constant nemesis for Sabonis.
When Blazers team doctor Don Roberts looked at Sabonis' medical files prior to his arrival, he was shocked. He called team general manager Bob Whitsitt as he looked at X-rays of Sabonis' foot.
"The X-ray alone would get you a handicap parking permit," Roberts said. "His foot was so bad it just didn't look like he would be able to run, to say nothing about basketball. So I called Whitsitt and said 'I don't think he can play.' Bob said, 'Oh, he can play."
Sure enough, during his seven seasons in Portland (1995-2001, 2002-2003) the Blazers would find out Sabonis still had some tricks left in him.
A behemoth of a man, the 7-foot-3, 292 pound Sabonis was exceptionally skilled. He was a remarkable passer – his behind-the-back, wrap around pass on the perimeter was his trademark – and a gifted shooter, making Sabonis a fan-favorite. He made an instant impact on the 1995-1996 Blazers.
He averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in his first season, and after being inserted into the starting lineup late in the season, the Blazers closed with an 18-3 record and made the playoffs as Sabonis averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds as a starter.
In the 1996 playoffs, he averaged 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds, but the Blazers lost in five games to Utah.
After seeing his skills with their own eyes, it became common conversation in Portland to wonder what could have been had Sabonis come to the United States earlier.
"There's no question that before he came over, he was one of the top three centers in the world, right there with (Kareem) Abdul-Jabbar and (Bill) Walton," former coach Mike Dunleavy said last year."He could run like a deer, shoot, pass. He would have been incredible."
Current Blazers coach Nate McMillan played against Sabonis in the mid-1990s, and marveled at his passing ability and basketball intelligence. He, too, wondered what Sabonis must have been like in his younger years.
"I didn't see him when he was young, but I heard about when he was a young guy and could take off from the free throw line and do all these things," McMillan said.
The Sabonis stories in Portland were more of toughness and playing through pain.
Jensen and Roberts both remember the 2000 playoffs as a memorable Sabonis moment.
It was minutes before Game 3 of the 2000 Western Conference semifinals, and the Blazers were in crisis mode.
Sabonis couldn't move. His ankle had locked into place, and as he hobbled into the trainer's room at Utah's Delta Center, it looked as if the Blazers would have to make a lineup change.
"The guy couldn't move at all. At all," Jensen remembers. "And this is right before tipoff."
Jensen and Roberts started manipulating the ankle of the 35-year-old center.
"All of the sudden, there was this 'clunk' from his ankle," Jensen said.
Sabonis grunted, moved the ankle, and got up.
"He said, 'OK. I'm fine,"' Roberts recalled. "There was a click, and whatever was out of place got back into place, and he went out and played."
Sabonis went on to start and lead the Blazers with 22 points and eight rebounds in a 103-84 win, helping the Blazers go up 3-0 in the series.
Jensen said he and Roberts stared at each other in stunned silence, wondering what in the heck just happened.
What happened was just another day in the life of Sabonis' seven seasons in Portland: Pain, debilitating injuries, and above all, success in spite of the pain and injuries.
"He played in pain every day, it was just varying degrees of how much pain," Jensen said. "But he was a warrior. An incredible compe or. And he was amazing – both in how big he was, and in how good he was."
I really wish he would have come over before all of his injuries. Even a crippled Sabonis was pretty darn good.
"He's not my Vydas.
He's not your Vydas.
He's our Vydas, Arvydas Sabonis."
before the injuries and becoming Shaquille's ho on the side, dude was a beast ........
That's right, he was gonna be a Daddy Stopper. Daddy had some mercy on him though. Unlike Mutombo who he just slaughtered.
Him fouling out in the 4th quarter of Game 7 was the biggest reason why the Lakers came back. Portland's offense collapsed once Brian Grant came in the game. Sabonis was a wizard on the floor.
I could have sworn Shaq dunked Mutombo's head several times in that Final series. It was brutal.
& because your team was terrified of winning & losing.
& your team hasn't changed an iota.
***Not "your" team. Sorry, 78.
When he was young and before the injuries, dude could run and dunk like D-Rob.
Add to that his amazing hands and court vision...
It was the beginning of the end for Daddy. Colangelo immediately convened that Blue Ribbon Panel to make changes. That was it. We got one more whilst the teams recognized & implemented those changes. He couldn't move after that.
Shaq said somewhere (maybe in his book) that he hated the three big men (Mutumbo, Ewing and Mourning) who came out of Georgetown because of all the re ed y they did. Mutumbo especially because of the re ed finger wag.
Shaq of all people hating on someone for that kind of behavior.
But, the finger wag was from the heart, not from the mind. I thought it adorable & honest.
The butchering that Daddy did unto Mutombo in that Philly Finals was incredible.
Anyone who thinks that Sabonis was a "wizard on the floor” has obviously never seen him play in the NBA…This guy is the most over hyped player ever…Sure he was good in the Euro leagues along with Tiago, Medvedenco & Sasha…But against players like Shaq he was exposed for the soft, clumsy & slow player that he really was…I will never forget those Lakers games against Portland where Shaq would make his move to the basket & Sabonis would just fall over & in that squeaky little voice of his would whine to the refs…’HEY HE FOULED ME”…
Having this Euro Poser in the NBA hall of fame with players like West, Kareem, Magic & Baylor is a complete disgrace…
Shaq didn't come into the league with the "M.D.E." at ude he has now. I think he developed it over time because his first few years he was too nice. IMO he didn't start winning he found reasons to hate guys like Malone, Robinson, and Mutumbo and developed a mean streak of some sort.Shaq of all people hating on someone for that kind of behavior.
Campy is right here. This Sabonis Legend has acquired a life of it's own thru the years. Like an urban myth.
Bully, Campy, bully for you.
If it were the NBA Hall of Fame your post might actually have significance.Anyone who thinks that Sabonis was a "wizard on the floor” has obviously never seen him play in the NBA…
Having this Euro Poser in the NBA hall of fame with players like West, Kareem, Magic & Baylor is a complete disgrace…
It's the basketball HOF and Sabonis was a stud long before he came to the League.
Also I love how the press plays the sympathy card…Poor Sabonis…You should have seen him before his injuries…What a joke…The guy drinks a bottle of vodka & falls down a flight of stairs & we have to pretend that his injuries are sports related? Only Portland was dumb enough to sign the guy…
Lisa Leslie could kick Sabonis's Azz…
Ohhh well that is a horse of a different color...
Watch some videos of a young Sabonis, though and you'll see how talented, smart and athletic the guy was. He was much more NBA-ready than 90% of these 1-and-done college "stars".
The "Robinson-reason" being complete e notwithstanding...
It wasn't complete . Robinson clearly had something against Shaq since the beginning of Shaq's career, to the point where he went against the man above and ran up the score against the Clippers in a meaningless game to steal the scoring le from Shaq. It was petty and bushleague.
Robinson had nothing against Shaq. And what makes you think Robinson wanting the scoring le has anything to do with Shaq? Could he not just want the accomplishment of winning a scoring le?
Shaq created a ridiculous story about Robinson snubbing him of an autograph as a small kid. He said Robinson yelled at him and told him to leave him alone. That's Shaq's reason for "not liking" Robinson. Because that story seems believable right?
& I think Robinson tried to convert Daddy to be a Baptist. I heard that at the time. It was either Baptist, or, Pentecastal. Daddy didn't like that. He was like a Protestant.
I think we should take a minute and recognize Robinson's high SAT scores.
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