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Portland Trail Blazers: Six Surplus Seasons of Sabonis

By Garrett Bugay

DALLAS - MAY 4: Eduardo Najera #14 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots past Arvydas Sabonis #11 of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2003 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 4, 2003 in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 107-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
DALLAS - MAY 4: Eduardo Najera #14 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots past Arvydas Sabonis #11 of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2003 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 4, 2003 in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 107-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Sabonis in 86, yet he didn’t join the team until 95. What could the team have achieved if he was able to come right away?

The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Arvydas Sabonis, an incredibly talented young big man, with the 24th pick of the first round in the 1986 NBA Draft. The Blazers had just come off a 40-42 season, and had a young Clyde Drexler, as well as Jerome Kersey and Terry Porter, all aged 23 and under.

The future of the team was incredibly bright. Unfortunately, Sabonis wouldn’t actually join the team until the 1995-96 season (at 31 years of age). We all know what happened prior to his arrival, an incredible 6 year run from 1987-88 to 1992-93 that included five 50 win seasons, a 63 win team, and two NBA Finals appearances.

Considering how well they fared without him, what heights could the team have reached if they had Sabonis, one of the greatest centers of all time, along for the ride?

Take a trip down memory lane as I ask, and answer, a bunch of hypothetical questions. This exercise is also just a means to discuss one of the NBA’s most enigmatic players.

When a hypothetical question like this is posed, it obviously leads to a bunch of separate olive branches that have an infinite amount of outcomes. I attempted to keep things as simple as possible by not altering too many ancillary pieces. But one of the immediate variables to sort out was, would the Blazers have still traded for Kevin Duckworth if they already had Sabonis on the roster?

The precipitous to the acquisition of Duckworth was another broken leg suffered by Sam Bowie prior to the 1986-87 season. The injury left the Blazers shallow at the center position. Sabonis, despite being on the team in this “what if” scenario, had still suffered an Achilles tear in 1986 prior to the Blazers drafting him, meaning he wouldn’t have been ready to play right out of the gate.

So, Duckworth would still be a need for the team, at least for the two years that Sabonis needed to rehab his injury (serious injuries took longer to recover from back then). This is an important thing to mention, because Duckworth establishes himself as a quality starting center during the 1987-88 season.

It’s safe to say that the 1987-88 Blazers, with Sabonis still out rehabbing his Achilles, would have achieved similar results even though he was on the roster. A 53 win season and a playoff appearance is a nice foundation to build on.

Clyde Drexler also establishes himself amongst the NBA élite, making his first All NBA Team (2nd team). Despite the disaster of drafting Sam Bowie second overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, things are looking very promising for the organization just four years later. And in the alternate universe in which “Saba” is nearing a return, the expectations would be through the roof.

After the 1987-88 NBA calendar was completed, the Olympics were held in Seoul, South Korea. This is where Sabonis returned from his injury and showed the world how good he was, leading the Soviet Union to the Gold Medal. He and his national team dispatched the United States in the Semifinals, where Sabonis had 13 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes, while also being the defensive anchor and limiting the USA team to just 76 points (they averaged 96.5 points per game in the tournament leading up to the semi-finals).

Arvydas put up a monster stat line in the Gold Medal Game, with 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Keep in mind he did all this having just returned from a devastating injury, an injury that has ended many players careers. This was the last Olympics the Americans used an amateur squad. Sabonis, perhaps single-handedly, precipitated the construction of the “Dream Team.”

After proving he was the best player in the Olympics, the Blazers would be adding Sabonis to their starting lineup for the 1988-89 season.