Arvydas Sabonis vs Vlade Divac

[White Chocolate]

Sabonis
Career: 12.0 PPG/7.3 RPG/2.1 APG/1.1 BPG/0.8 SPG in 24.2 MPG
Best season(1997-98)- 16.0 PPG/10.0 RPG/3.0 APG/1.1 BPG/0.9 SPG


-Excellent passer and probably the only big man who had a better passing game than Tim Duncan and Brad Daugherty.

-Very consistent shooter. Always around the 50% mark, give or take a few.

-Good foul shooter for a guy his height.

-Not a bad three point shooter.

-Didn't come to the United States until age 31.


Divac
Career: 11.8 PPG/8.2 RPG/3.1 APG/1.4 BPG/1.1 SPG
Best season(1994-95): 16.0 PPG/10.4 RPG/4.1 APG/2.2 BPG/1.4 SPG


-Like Sabonis, a good passing big man.

-Good all around player, played both ends of the court well.

-Shot a decent percentage, always close to 50%.


These two are considered two of the best, if not, the best two big men to come out of the Serbia area. Who do you take?

[kumquat]

Sabas all day. On two shot knees and ankles at 30 something was still schooling dudes. He'd be an all time great if he went to the NBA earlier.

[boozehound]

Originally Posted by kumquat

Sabas all day. On two shot knees and ankles at 30 something was still schooling dudes. He'd be an all time great if he went to the NBA earlier.

yep. no doubt. as much as i respect vlade hes nowhere close to the player that sabonis was.

[Jasper]

Very good thread -

These two are great centers that are IMO Chief Parrish when he played in Boston's championship years. He filled a role as well as a great team player.
All three had a nack for spacing , boards and outlet passes.
Watching centers can be boring at times , but if you watch Sabonis and Divac it was fantastic.
How many times did these guys get poked eyes , busted in the chops , knee to knee , this was when the game was physical in all reguards and these two were absolute warriors.

The only reason I would take Sabonis over Divas on a one on one was ironically Sabonis on bad knees and all could actually take any big man to the rake and create unusual layup shots. Truely gifted.

[poeticism707]

Give me Arvydas Divac!

[gencbiba]

Very hard question for me. I'm a Kings fan and I loved Divac (especially since I was born near him) and he really helped European players get in the NBA.

Based on their careers, I'd take Divac. However, if it was prime Sabonis vs prime Divac, Sabonis would be leagues better than Divac. Sabonis was truely one of the best centers in the world... Imagine him when he was young and athletic.

[SomeBunghole]

Originally Posted by White Chocolate

These two are considered two of the best, if not, the best two big men to come out of the Serbia area. Who do you take?

Wow, did someone fail high school geography.

[steve]

It's an even comparison if we're just basing this on Sabonis' NBA career, but he was well past his prime by the time he got there. If it's overall talent, then it's Sabonis hands down, who would've gone down as one of the top 10 centers of all time if he'd played in the States during his prime years. Regardless, they're both two of the most natural passing big men of all time, right up there with Walton, Unseld, and Sampson (Duncan has great vision but I don't think his touch is as good as those three, but really I might just be nitpicking, good call on Daugherty, one of the of the more underrated big men of his era). Sabonis was really a once in a life time talent that we never really got to see until he was broken down (well, unless you watched a lot of basketball in Europe at the time).

[steve]

Originally Posted by SomeBunghole

Wow, did someone fail high school geography.

Well, they were both born in the USSR (before it was disbanded).

[RoseCity07]

Lol, Sabonis is the reason there was a dream team. David Robinson was so impressed the league had to get the NBA's best in the Olympics.

[VCMVP1551]

Good thread. I was a huge fan of both. If Sabonis came here in the 80's when he was young you would hear him mentioned in the same breath as Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, Duncan, Ewing ect. However if we are judging NBA careers that makes it a bit tougher. I really can't choose right now both were excellent players.

[allball]

If you go just by NBA numbers it looks close but if you judge overall careers and talent it's Sabonis by a mile.

[VCMVP1551]

Originally Posted by allball

If you go just by NBA numbers it looks close but if you judge overall careers and talent it's Sabonis by a mile.

Obviously Sabonis was a beast in his prime. Had he played in the NBA in his prime he would be a hall of famer.

[steve]

Originally Posted by VCMVP1551

Obviously Sabonis was a beast in his prime. Had he played in the NBA in his prime he would be a hall of famer.

He really should be a Hall of Famer, his NBA accomplishments just enhance his case.

[Aldridge Fan]

Sabonis for sure. He was a good center for the Blazers. Great outside shooting and passer also.