Arvydas Sabonis, according to Mitch Richmond, was similar to Nikola Jokic but more powerful: “He Was Like Shaq”

Arvydas Sabonis, according to Mitch Richmond, was a more mature version of Nikola Jokic.

In the NBA and internationally, Mitch Richmond faced the legendary Arvydas Sabonis, and the Lithuanian left a lasting influence on him. Looking back at the 1988 Olympics, Richmond discussed how exceptional Sabonis was in an interview with the All The Smoke podcast.

“He could pass, he was unbelievable, had a hook shot, (could) throw passes behind his back,” Richmond stated. And he was able to run a little bit at that point. This is how enormous Bruh’s head was.”

Richmond said Sabonis was a bigger version of Nikola Jokic when co-host Stephen Jackson questioned if he was everything Jokic is now.

“All of it and more,” Richmond continued. “And there was no avoiding him. He had all of the skill of Shaquille O’Neal. Man, he had it all. He was a skilled athlete.”

Sabonis stood at 7’3″ and weighed about 300 pounds. He was a mountain of a man but was extremely skilled as well.

Sabonis was a gifted passer who could score down in the post and from outside as well. That skill set of his is why Jokic has been compared to him so often. Even the likes of Charles Barkley have said in the past that if there was a player to compare the two-time MVP to, it is a young Sabonis.

We never truly saw the best of Sabonis in the NBA, even though Jokic is currently enjoying the best years of his career there. By the time he arrived, he had already sustained a good number of injuries and was in his 30s.

He was selected with the 24th choice in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, but he wouldn’t really make his NBA debut until 1995. Over the course of his seven NBA seasons, Sabonis averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while playing with the Trail Blazers.

We’ll never for sure just how great Sabonis would have been in the league had he managed to come over earlier or if he didn’t have all those injuries. Would he have been as good as Jokic is now or even better than him? It’s hard to say really.

Still, despite all the injury issues that plagued him during his career, Sabonis has gone down as one of the greatest European players ever. His finest hour perhaps came at the 1988 Olympics, when he helped the Soviet Union win the gold medal. They beat Richmond and Team USA in the semifinals in the process, with Sabonis recording 13 points and 13 rebounds in that contest.

Toni Kukoc Thinks Nikola Jokic Is Not At The Level Of Vlade Divac And Dino Radja At The Center Position

While Richmond was not disrespecting Jokic here by any means, another former NBA star might have done that recently. Toni Kukoc said he believes Jokic hasn’t reached the level of Vlade Divac or Dino Radja at the center position.