Out of all the players in NBA history who would have changed Jordan’s legacy, these nikkas in here said Aryvdas Sabonis
You can be ignorant if you want, but why put yourself out there like that?
Was there a better player than Sabonis who could matched primes with Jordan, but didn't?
Was there a better team than Portland who could have beat the Bulls with just one more piece?
If you didn't know that Sabonis was widely regarded as one of the top players in the world, if you didn't know that he looked every bit as good as the Admiral when they went head-to-head in 1988 even though he was playing injured, if you didn't know that multiple NBA players, coaches, and GMs called him one of the greatest in the world, then I can understand. But why admit it?
In 1992 Kevin Duckworth was
. As the starting center he averaged 10 and 6 on 46% shooting and couldn't play defense for shyt (wasn't even top-5 on the team in blocks).
In 1998 when Sabonis was 33 years old and couldn't bend his knees or jump any more from all the injuries, he still averaged 16 and 10 on 50% shooting with 3 assists and over a block a game and was one of the better one-on-one defensive centers in the league.
Even an old, washed Sabonis was still >>>>> than Duckworth. And you don't think a prime, injury-free Sabonis could have made the difference in 1992 when the Blazers were up 15 in the 4th in Game 6?
Now lets put a little positivity in this for Jordan's sake. Lets say his father is never killed while Bias living and Sabonis coming in the league early. Jordan does not retire but is it a possibility that he loses the 92 finals but wins in 91, 93, 94, 95 ?? Does he make less finals? 8 straight ?
Why would the Bulls win in 1995? That was a much lesser version than the 1993 or 1996 teams, they just weren't good enough that year. Jordan had a dominant playoff run and they still lost, if he hadn't left then he would have been more worn down at that point.
But I think they would have broken down long before that. Even as it was, they had a crazy streak of luck where their top-8 all staying healthy for all six Finals runs, with the two-year gap in the middle. If they had kept playing 100+ games every year without that break they would have had a breakdown in their key players before then.
And why would the Blazers only make the 1992 Finals with a healthy Sabonis in his prime?
In 1991, even with bum Duckworth starting at the 5, Blazers were a 63-19 team that took the Lakers to 6 in the WCF. Kevin Duckworth averaged 10 and 6 on 37% shooting in the series and only blocked one shot in 6 games while a rookie Divac buried him, averaging 13ppg on 62% shooting.
Vlade himself said straight up that prime Sabonis was better than prime Admiral. You don't think that Sabonis is >>>>>>>> than Duckworth and the Blazers aren't the best team in the NBA in 1991 if they have him?
In 1993, Portland still won 51 games even though Duckworth was now useless and Drexler missed half the season hurt. Otherwise they still had their same guys, Porter was 29, Drexler and Kersey were 30, Buck was 32, Cliff was 26. Sabonis would have been 28 when the season started. By the time the playoffs came around, Duckworth had declined so much the Blazers had to start Mark Bryant at center, and The Admiral beat them up inside. If Sabonis had been carrying the team by that point, the wear on Drexler and everyone else would have been less. Drexler proved that in 1995 he was still good enough to be a strong #2 to a dominant #1, I think that from 1993-1995 the Blazers would have been real contenders still with prime Sabonis leading the way and Drexler/Porter/Kersey/Buck/Cliff as a solid core behind him.
Not to mention 1990, of course.
I think if Sabonis enters the NBA healthy in 1986 and stayed healthy, Blazers probably win 2 at least with a chance at several more.
@ "had to be bailed out"
