Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Played seven seasons with Trail Blazers (1995-2001, 2002-03)
- Averaged 12 points and 7.3 rebounds per game
Arvydas Sabonis was already an international basketball legend when he arrived in the United States as a 31-year-old rookie for the 1995-96 campaign.
The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian was drafted in the first round by the Blazers way back in 1986 and had to wait nine full years before Sabonis was ready to come stateside. But when he was, it was absolutely worth the wait.
Outside of the 16 points and 10 rebounds per game that Sabonis averaged during the 1997-98 campaign, his numbers may not jump off the page at you, but don’t be fooled. Sabonis is one of the best-passing big men in the history of the game of basketball, as he dazzled NBA players, coaches and fans alike.
He was also capable of shooting 3-pointers. While he only shot from beyond the arc at a 32.8 percent clip in the NBA, he was pretty much the only 7-footer (or, 7-foot-3 player, in Sabonis’ case) that was willing to let it fly from deep. It consistently caught teams and their plodding traditional centers off-guard.
The Trail Blazers made the playoffs in each one of Sabonis’ seasons in the NBA but only advanced past the first round twice, making it to the Western Conference Finals in both 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Sabonis retired after the 2000-01 season, but returned to play in 2002-03 in a bench role. He averaged 15.5 minutes per game and providing size and playmaking off the bench in that one final season with the Trail Blazers. His international dominance paved the way for Sabonis to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.