Arvydas Sabonis-Before Injuries 1986

My highlight mix about one of the greatest centers of all time - Arvydas Sabonis from Lithuania. This mix shows how great he was before injuries, then he was playing in USSR team. Footage from 1986 world basketball championship in Spain. Sabonis was playing against D.Robinson(USA) and S.Vrankovic/V.Divac(Yugoslavia).

[Dalgren]

That guy he is owning is David Robinson, legendary Spurs center. A healthy Sabonis would have been a top 5 NBA player...any decade you want. His son is just a shadow of how good the father was...

[bradleybacon]

Bill Walton once called Sabonis a 7'3" Larry Bird due to his unique court vision, shooting range, rugged in-game mentality, and versatility.

[firatnacar]

Remember, the guy is in the Basketball Hall of Fame and didn't play in the NBA in his prime.

[bofuthereturn]

OMFG he could really get up back then. blocking shots and dunking on a young david robinson. I lived near portland and saw sabonis play when he came to the nba. he was a great passer and a pretty damn good player but i couldn't really understand why people kept hyping him as perhaps the best international player of all time. after watching this clip now I realize that what i saw was a shell of what sabonis used to be. by the time he came to the nba he had lost his athleticism and explosiveness due to injuries and basically became a finess player relying on passing and shooting. this clip definitely made me see him in a new light.

[frankmix]

It's a shame he didn't get to compete in the NBA prior to his injuries. Definitely ranks as one of the greatest players ever.

[jespacey]

Sabonis had it all, he could've been easily a top 5 center of all time...amazing!

[IU]

Too bad we never got to see this version of Sabonis in the NBA.   Would've been interesting to see how the younger healthy version would've done. 

[dmitrykoul]

In ~1995 i read a book about Sabonis. He was the legend already back then. I have seen how he played in NBA. I think it is a tragedy that he did not play in the NBA at his prime and before all those injuries. He would be in hall of fame at least, if not the best center of all time. Kudos to Lithuania from Belarus ;)

[egidijuskuprusevicius]

Sabonis injured his legs in 1986, no one believed that he will play ever again and in 1988 he won Olympic Gold...in 1988 Marciulionis was in his prime and without injuries and this helped too a lot...both these best of the best basketball players were born in 1964 four months apart and both were Lithuanians from the same city Kaunas

[BoxCarBoy]

Wow! Sabonis definitely had one of the most complete offensive games ever: Incredible post moves, unreal court vision and passing, deadly shot, AND he could still face up and take it to the hole.

[gswdeclan]

Damn cold war.. he's up there with Ralph Sampson in the what might have been category. Have to respect him for being a top 10 nba center in Portland when he could  barely walk around 2001.

[HIMCULES]

This must be sabonis' happiest season in basketball. I was thrilled to find whole games of ussr on youtube, but couldn't bear to watch more than a couple of minutes of him going up and down court with those little steps, turning round and not being able to jump, just standing hook. I was almost in tears and i'm just a greek spectator. Amazing talent, ruined by politics, of all things. GOAT in my book.

[GrahamCStrouse]

I wish we could have seen the Lithuanian Legend in the NBA while he was still young and healthy. He was pretty darn good as an older player working on badly reconstructed knees but when he was young he was SOOO good. He should have been up there with Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Shaq. He really was that good.

[jimbo-fkdq]

I always remember hearing basketball aficionados and people in the game talk of how great Sabonis was. Luckily, with the internet, I get to see what they were talking about.

[AndrewWilliams-ebkz]

Wow he really is a legend when he was younger. I’ve always heard that but finally saw it. So true. He was ferocious

[seechen]

Sabonis' reaction is funny in 0:46

[boogernights]

BEAST! The whole package. Plus that CCCP jersey was simply bad-ass. If only Valanciunas is this good.

[CWBush]

Saw him as an "old man" with Portland. He was making Pistol Pete passes casually as he would wipe his nose. He could do everything very very well.

[VeilsideHP]

If this guy made it to the NBA in his early career he could be one of the all time greats.

[MrAitraining]

Thank u for titling this "before injuries"  So many people have no clue how great this guy was. Damm the Soviet Union 4 not letting him go NBA sooner. Sabonis was most skilled big man in the world when he was younger. Bigger, stronger Dirk and great passer.