Shaq and Sabonis see each other again
Sad we never got to see prime Sabonis in the league dude was a beast once he finally came to Portland
He came to Portland so beat up he qualified for a handicap ticket.
Dude had 2 achilles tears before joining the league.
We cab thank USSR for that for forcing him to play for the national team throgh injuries and for not letting him go to the NBA
Still managed to average a double double and was one of the best but man passers of his era.
Peak Sabonis just never happened.
Because of injuries he lost all his athleticism at like 23-24 years. What we saw in NBA was a super talented but old, incredibly slow and unathletic version of him.
Dude was also a dominant defender before the injuries, weirdly athletic for being a 7’3 dude and I think he was also the first 7 footer who would make 3’s with no problem in early 80’s. Insanity.
People compare him to Jokic because of his fancy passes, but back then centers werent running offenses like Jokic is.
In Europe imo he was kinda like a bit Shorter, but stronger and more athletic Wemby. Dude was a freak of nature and had insane guard skills (shooting, passing, dribbling) because he played PG growing up. He was awesome at the center stuff too.
All of that while drinking more than playing lmao, but back then that was the norm.
not the first shooter iirc but I saw some of his shooting and it reminded me of Wemby a lot, they were pretty similar in that regard
False.
[deleted]
Prime sabonis is the reason for the dream team
There was another Lithuanian (Sarunas Marciulionis) that was at least as revered as Sabonis, though.
His son was fun to watch in college. I don’t think he was good enough to make it to the NBA so I wonder if he’s over balling in europe these days
Let’s not forget Oscar Schmidt.
and few years back i was heavily downvoted here for saying that arvydas was miles better than domas lmao
Young folks are often cocksure and wrong.
It always amazes me how much of an absolute unit he was
Dude is standing next to Shaq and makes him look small and unit is the right word cause Wemby may be taller but Sabonis was what we call fed on meat and potatoes lol he was a big boy
He’s 6GOAT worldwide
Sabonis looks taller than 7’3
Shaq shrunk, Sabonis kept growing
This is kind of tangential, but the fact that Sabonis is bigger than Shaq is a reminder that Shaq wasn’t as good as he was just bc he was big.
There have been lots of dudes in the NBA as bigger or bigger than Shaq. Shaq was dominant bc he was highly skilled and athletic, in addition to being the size of a small apartment.
All people know is the legend of shaq. Nobody remembers how fuckin fast he was and how soft his touch was. Its just not something people mention. Dude was real fuckin problem. I cant even imagine what would happen if you dropped him in 2026
Orlando Shaq leading a fast break was plain scary. People need to watch his Orlando years and see really how athletic he was before he bulked up even more.
He would destroy everyone on the interior but how is he defending 5 outs?
Yeah I don’t think people know how quick on his feet he was for a giant of a man. He was over goddamn 400 pounds as a Laker.He also said Sabonis was the strongest player he ever played against by far.
Stronger than Big Ben?
That’s what I heard years ago. But it’s Shaq he probably said Big Ben in another interview and somebody else in another.
Sabas and Darryl Dawkins were breaking backboard in the same era
No joke, Shaq started out a lot like a bigger LeBron when he hit the league.
Shaq had what? 4-5 inches on him? Shaq hit the nba at like 285, right?
325
Seeing him play in Portland and former teams, it’s no wonder, dude was built like a fridge yet had insane handle, incredible court vision and his passing skills were unbelievable for a man his size, oh were we robbed precious!
Chuck. LeBron. Shaq. Zion.
There’s a few guys that have no business being as athletic as they are based on their size on paper.
Sabonis was better
There’s always a bigger fish.
I remember Arvydas palming the ball like it was a volleyball and doing DHOs. Real life giant
I remember as a kid there was a display in the Rose Garden of a basketball with his hand outline drawn on it. My ten year old hands reached about a third of the way up his palm.
Yea and then you hear stories of him drinking and smoking in the locker room right after. Built different lol
Fuck Shaq
Random ass Nord VPN shirt
The size of that thing too. Looks like a dress on Shaq
it was a sponsored trip, the Zalgiris account mentioned NordVPN in their tweet
It’s not random ass. Shaq recently became Nord VPN global brand ambassador.
Shaq just wants you to stay safe online
Shaq lost me at Kash Patel
It took you this long?
Shit bucket trump loving law enforcement …. Shaq
Didn’t know Sabonis was that big. Looks almost Yao Ming size next to Shaq.
I always forget how huge he is.
always trips me out seeing shaq look like a regular dude
God damn even Shaq looks small because of Sabonis. Imagine how he would’ve eaten the league alive if he wasn’t injured and arrived in his prime.
Him fouling out in the 4th quarter of game 7 is why the Blazers didn’t win a chip that year.
I got to stand about 8 feet away from them during a game in Portland one time. I was getting to take part in a promotion during a quarter break and was at the edge of the tunnel and court. They came tumbling out of bounds and stood up in front of me. The wave of heat and the smell those two sweaty giants created was insane.
The USSR robbed us of seeing late 80’s/early 90’s Jokic.
Thats how good OG Sabonis was.
if Shaq is 7’ Sabas is 8’
Shaq has shrunk because the size difference was never that big
Is that the Doctor shaqkwelle oneil?
Thats a giant of a man, then theres Yao
Not Your-vydas…
Sabonis looking like a big n tall Phil Jackson
I get he doesn’t have the cardio or stamina but I swear you could put today’s Shaq into an NBA game for five minutes and toss him the ball in the paint and he’d put up buckets
Just once in my life I would love the opportunity to get to dap up shaq. And if we happened to get that perfect “pop”?? That’s gg’s. I’m out. Gotta just end on that one tbh.