This season's Indiana Pacers have surprised us so much, and Oladipo's growth is definitely the number one reason. But in addition to Oladipo, Sabonis Jr., who joined the Thunder last summer, has also improved significantly, averaging 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, shooting 51.4 percent from the field. In the playoffs, Sabonis Jr. also scored a team-high score of 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
It is not easy for Sabonis Jr. to have such a performance, and he has to work harder than other players to get the affirmation of others, after all, his father Avidas Sabonis shines too brightly. When I first joined the league, when I mentioned Sabonis, the first thing that must come to mind was his father. In this alliance, where there are too many examples of "tiger fathers and dogs", the success of the father is obviously not a small pressure.
As the best player in China and the whole of Asia, Yao Ming also has his own idol on the basketball court - unlike others, Yao Ming's idol is not Michael Jordan or Hakim Olajuwon, but the Lithuanian star, Sabonis, known as the "roof of the world". To be able to become an idol of such an excellent player as Yao Ming, Sabonis is bound to have a different superiority from ordinary people.
At the age of 15, Sabonis, who had already soared to 2.01 meters tall, was recruited by his hometown team Kaunas Zigris at the age of 16 and officially entered the professional arena. In that era when CSKA Moscow ruled the domestic league, Kaunas pinned all his hopes on the young center forward. They proved to be right, Sabonis grew at an astonishing rate, and on the inside line can be called a sea of turmoil. Since 1984, he has led the team to three consecutive championships, and before that, Kaunas had won only one championship.
Speaking of Sabonis' true fame in the world, we have to mention the 1988 Seoul Olympics. At that time, the U.S. team had not yet sent professional players to compete, but even if they were only college players, their strength was still terrifying, and they were known as unbeatable teams. That year, the U.S. team had David Robinson, who later became one of the greatest centers in NBA history, and throughout the Olympic Games, David Robinson blew up almost all the team's interior line. Only in the semi-finals against the former Soviet Union's Sabonis, Robinson was challenged tough for the first time, and the showdown also ended with the victory of Sabonis and his former Soviet team, which shocked the world.
In 1995, Sabonis left the Europa League with a body of honor to land in the NBA. This year, he was 31 years old, and no one looked up to the old, slow, bulky center with thick protective gear on his knees – even though he had proven himself in international and European competitions. In the face of all kinds of doubts, Sabonis started his NBA career, he averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his rookie season, and after being promoted by the head coach, the Blazers played a wave of 18-4 records at the end of the regular season. In the playoffs against the Utah Jazz in the same year, Against Carl Malone, Sabonis averaged 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
In the NBA's 7 years, Sabonis averaged double figures per game every season, averaging 12 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout his career, and following the team to the playoffs for 7 years. It is worth mentioning that in that era when centers were more hand-to-hand under the basket, he also had a 32.8% three-point shooting rate. The Lithuanian's understanding of basketball and his judgment of the situation on the court are even more amazing, and he has won the respect of discerning American fans with his outstanding performances.
In the summer of 2003, 39-year-old Sabonis, who suffered from a knee injury, chose to leave the NBA and return to his hometown of Kaunas, at this age, Sabonis continued his myth: he led the team to win the Lithuanian domestic league championship again, and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, and he himself won the Lithuanian League MVP, the Europa League regular season MVP and the Europa League Round of 16 MVP. Nearly 40 years old still has such a strong dominance, Sabonis is indeed admirable.
Mike Dunlliever Sr. once called Sabonis one of the five greatest centers in NBA history, and Divac said: "Sabonis at his peak is better than sharks and big dreams." "Political reasons have caused him to miss the golden age of entering the NBA, and judging by the performance he played after the age of 30, if he can join the NBA at the best age, Sabonis may have achieved unimaginable achievements."