We were robbed of seeing a “prime” Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. What we’re seeing from his son however, does more than make up for it.
If you’re into today’s NBA then you already know about Pacer star and 2x All-Star “Domantas Sabonis”. With that being said, you should also know a little bit about Domantas’s father, Arvydas. Arvydas Sabonis is one of Lithuania’s best basketball players ever. No seriously, by 15, Arvydas was already a member of the Soviet Junior National team.
Arvydas made his professional club debut in 81' in his homeland of Lithuania, where he won three consecutive Soviet Premier League titles, and the 1986 FIBA Club World Cup with Žalgiris. Funny thing is, Arvydas was drafted in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, but the pick was voided because he was under 21.
Despite being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 86', Sabonis continued to play overseas because he was not allowed to play in the US. The Trailblazers could not extract Arvydas from Lithuania which at that time, was a independent republic on the Baltic Sea that was seized by the U.S.S.R. , in 1940.
in 1989, Sabonis left his home team Žalgiris and by 92' he was a member of Real Madrid where he won two Spanish League titles, and a FIBA European League (EuroLeague) title in 94'-95'. In that season, Arvydas averaged 23.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, & 2.3 BPG. For the 94'-95' FIBA European League season, Arvydas averaged 21.8 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.6 APG & 1.8 BPG. Sabonis also has 10 medals, including a gold medal for the Soviet Union in the 88' Olympics.
Although injuries plagued Sabonis a bit, it did not stop him from reaching the NBA. In 1995, after another European season, Arvydas and Portland got in contact with each other about a possible transition. At 31 years old, Arvydas would finally make his Rookie debut for Portland. In his rookie season Arvydas would average 14.5 PPG & 8.1 RPG on 54/37/75 shooting splits in only 23.8 minutes a game. He would be named to All-Rookie First Team, and would be a runner-up in both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year award voting.
In the playoffs of that season, Arvydas averages would shoot up to 23.6 PPG & 10.2 RPG on 43/55/71 shooting splits. This would come on behalf of the numbers he put up against the “Stockton-Malone” Jazz.
31 years of age, and already making the kind of impact for a team you only wish that they got to have sooner.
Arvydas played a total of seven seasons in the NBA, all with Portland. His best season being in 97'-98' when he averaged 16.0 PPG & 10.0 RPG on 49% shooting from the field. Sabonis played in two straight WCFs (99'-00'), including a seven game series thriller in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. When Sabonis left the NBA, he went back to Lithuania, playing for Žalgiris for one last season. He won MVP at 39 years old before becoming the team’s president. Sabonis would later be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2011.
- FIBA Club World Cup champion (1986)
- FIBA European League champion (1995)
- 3× USSR League champion (1985–1987)
- 2× ACB League champion (1993, 1994)
- LKL champion (2004)
- Spanish Cup winner (1993)
- FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players (1991)
- 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008)
- 6× Euroscar Player of the Year (1984, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1997, 1999)
- 2× Mr. Europa Player of the Year (1985, 1997)
- 4× Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year (1984–1986, 1996)
- EuroBasket MVP (1985)
- FIBA European League Final Four MVP (1995)
- EuroLeague Regular Season MVP (2004)
- EuroLeague Top 16 MVP (2004)
- All-EuroLeague First Team (2004)
- 2× Spanish League Finals MVP (1993, 1994)
- 2× Spanish League MVP (1994, 1995)
- 2× Spanish All-Star Game MVP (1991, 1992)
- 2× EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer (1986, 1995)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1996)
- №11 retired by Žalgiris Kaunas
A decorated resume for an amazing player. I have no doubt in my mind that if Arvydas was able to play in the NBA when he was much younger, he would have dominated. Thankfully for us basketball fans, Arvydas son, “Domantas” is doing exactly that so far.
Domantas Sabonis is in his 5th NBA season (4th with Indiana) and is already one of the best PFs in the NBA. He’s a 2x All-Star, and is currently averaging 20.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG & 6.0 APG on 52% shooting from the field.
Declining to play overseas to play NCAA basketball instead, Domantas attended Gonzaga university for two years. Sabonis Sophomore year he averaged 17.6 PPG & 11.8 RPG, which doubled his averages from his Freshman campaign.
He led Gonzaga to the “Sweet 16” in 2016 and with averages of 19.6 PPG, 14.3 RPG, 2.6 APG & 3.3 BPG, he was flat out DOMINANT during “March Madness”. After Gonzaga was eliminated by Syracuse (GO ORANGE!), Sabonis was named to the CBS College Basketball All-America Third-team, along with Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, and Jamal Murray. Sabonis was also one of the finalists for the “prestigious” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.
Sabonis was originally drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 11th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Both teams could definitely use him right now). Sabonis spent one year in OKC before being dealt to Indiana in the “Blockbuster” Paul George trade. From there he went from averaging only 5.9 PPG to 11.6 PPG and since then he’s only improved.
Domantas Sabonis career is just getting started, and at only 24 years old, he has more than enough room to improve. What Indiana is getting from Domantas now is exactly what Lithuania and Russia got from Arvydas. But don’t just take it from me, check the tape.
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March 12, 2021 at 10:14PM
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