Sabonis vs Wilt (Euroleague vs jlauber)

[Living Being]

Just curious...can someone post the '88 Olympic numbers between D-Rob and this so-called prime Sabonis?

Forget it. Found them.

Sabonis with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Robinson with 19 points and 12 rebounds...

Just FYI, Sabonis was just post-achilles rupture at that 1988 game.

In 1986 World Championships:
Robinson 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks
Sabonis 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...wuNWNSgeQ#t=0s

[Euroleague]

All of this is completely irrelevant he's talking about 90s Sabonis which was already heavily injured, still best player in Europe though. Real prime was 86-87, he never hit his full potential due to injuries. There wasn't player as skilled and big at the same time as him ever, and before injuries he had good athleticism too. He was as close to complete as you can get. And saying that Vrankovic and Tkatchenko were better defenders is laughable at best, it's like saying that Krstic is better defender than Marc Gasol.

STOP DOING DRUGS

[Rooster]

He dominated one of the best athletes ever in David Robinson though.

He never dominated the Admiral. That was a myth spread by the viral of YouTube video with Sabas highlights.

[jongib369]

Round 1: Fight!

Sabonis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06usV6451ik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXhFq7QRC0I

Not going to lie I've always wanted to see them argue about something

[CavaliersFTW]

He dominated one of the best athletes ever in David Robinson though.

David Robinson only weighed 226lbs during the 1988 Olympics

[BoutPractice]

Sabonis is slightly overrated as an overall player, but underrated as a passer. He had unreal vision from the post - I wish someone would put together a highlight vid of his greatest assists, it'd be amazing to watch...

[KNOW1EDGE]

someone said in the comments of that video that sabonis would give Shaq fits. lol

As a Blazer fan, I can tell you Sabas DID give Shaq fits, and that was when he was WAY past his prime.

In his prime, Sabas was a more skilled basketball player than Shaq. IMO.

Shaq was just strong, he didn't have the shot, touch, footwork or passing ability that Sabas had, he was just stronger.

[bdreason]

I'll probably get flamed, but I think Sabonis gets vastly overrated. Too much "would've, could've, should've" involved for me to rank him amongst other great players in the sport.

[Round Mound]

I *** in your wife.

Oh, and here is the stats for both Robinson and Sabonis from the semi-final of
'88 Olympics.

Sabonis: 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover.
Robinson: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers.

Source:
http://www.sports-reference.com/olym...obinson-1.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/olym...sabonis-1.html

Seems like Sabonis and Wilt are equally overrated.

This Was Not the 1986 Sabonis. His Injuries Happened in 1987. Prior to That He Was Considered The Best Center in the World By Most Experts.

[KNOW1EDGE]

I'll probably get flamed, but I think Sabonis gets vastly overrated. Too much "would've, could've, should've" involved for me to rank him amongst other great players in the sport.

I think the problem is most people never saw him in his prime, cuz he never played a minute of NBA basketball in his prime.

Despite the fact that he was way past his prime, and had injuries, he was still the most versatile and talented center in the NBA. IMO.

Shaq was the most dominant, but Sabas was basically the only center who could guard him. And Sabas basketball skill was far superior to Shaqs. Sabas could pass and see the floor better than most guards, he could shoot the 3 better than most guards, he could block shots, he had amazing footwork and a great hook shot.

Im a Blazer fan, I saw A LOT of Sabas and I am def biased.
He is one of my fav players of all time.

[bdreason]

I think the problem is most people never saw him in his prime, cuz he never played a minute of NBA basketball in his prime.

Despite the fact that he was way past his prime, and had injuries, he was still the most versatile and talented center in the NBA. IMO.

Shaq was the most dominant, but Sabas was basically the only center who could guard him. And Sabas basketball skill was far superior to Shaqs. Sabas could pass and see the floor better than most guards, he could shoot the 3 better than most guards, he could block shots, he had amazing footwork and a great hook shot.

Im a Blazer fan, I saw A LOT of Sabas and I am def biased.
He is one of my fav players of all time.

I watched him play plenty in Portland, and yes, we all wish he would have played in the NBA in his prime... but he didn't. He played out his prime in a far inferior league (especially in 80's), and never did enough in the NBA (or the Olympics) for me to rank him amongst the best to ever play the game.

I'd be interested to hear where you think he should rank though. If old-Sabonis was apparently "the only player that could match Shaq", I'm guessing you consider him at least a top 20 player all-time?

[KNOW1EDGE]

I'd be interested to hear where you think he should rank though. If old-Sabonis was apparently "the only player that could match Shaq", I'm guessing you consider him at least a top 20 player all-time?

No, I don't consider him top 20 player of all time. Being able to guard Shaq doesn't make you a top 20 player of all time. Id put him in the top 50 no doubt.

Unquestionably top 20 center of all time. top 10 IMO

But really though, who could guard Shaq? Or give him a run for his money? Sabas did it better than anyone I ever saw. IMO and that was when he was old and worn down. In his prime, he would have dominated the NBA.

Again though, I am very biased and literally watched almost every game he played in the NBA. IMO he was way more talented than Shaq, just not as strong, therefore not as dominant. Better shooter, better footwork, better team player, better passer, better vision, better hook shot.

And just like people hate on Wilt, I don't see how you can hold it against a guy for the people he played against, or the "weak" era he was a part of.

[Harison]

Sabonis was a bigger and better version of Bill Walton. Some fans posting stats here to discredit Sabonis forget two important factors:

1) Stats dont cover full players impact, like Walton's stats were nowhere near impressive either, yet he was a dominant force in his short prime to anyone who watched him play. Walton himself said, Sabonis was a better passer as well.

2) these Sabonis stats were of post-injury, broken down player who never saw his full potential. Blazers doctor after examination said he was surprised Sabas could walk at all, let alone play basketball at NBA level.

Example - Waltons MVP season (over prime Kareem, Dr. J, etc) per36:

20.5/14.3 at 55% TS.

Sabonis, when he arrived to NBA (barely walking version) per36:

22.0/12.2 at 62% TS.

Any expert who watched Sabonis play in his youth, claim he was one of the best centers, ever. He was still solid in NBA, despite all odds. Therefore I dont get guys who want to discredit Sabonis, obviously they havent watched him play in his youth, nor watched his performance on Blazers with understanding the extent of his injuries.

[LJJ]

Lakas doesn't like to hype players who played in both the Euroleague and the NBA. He will either say they are overrated and were never that good in the Euroleague (Anthony Parker, Prigioni, etc, etc), or he will find some off the court reason why they sucked in the NBA comparatively (V-Span, Jasi, etc, etc).

[plowking]

someone said in the comments of that video that sabonis would give Shaq fits. lol

The ignorant 14 year old laughing at stuff like this, when you're in the Wilt/Russell thread trying to school people on them. You're 14, never seen any of them play, never probably bothered to watch any highlights, and you're blasting people for ignorant comments in one thread, when you're making them here.