Rasheed Wallace Praises The Passing Skills Of Legendary Center Arvydas Sabonis

Shandel Richardson | Jun 19, 2024

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is noted for his passing skills as much as the rest of his game.

Before him, we saw a big man pass the ball just like him, maybe even better. Arvydas Sabonis played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 1995-2003. He was one of the first 7-footers to impact the game with his passing.

Former teammate Rasheed Wallace recently spoke of Sabonis' passing touch on his podcast. He called Sabonis one of the best he's ever played with. And Wallace played with several talented players during his career.

“Being a big, you gotta be a good passer," Wallace said "…That’s one of things that can carry you on further in your career … Sabonis was at the end of his career, but you better be lookin’ at that [expletive]. When he got the ball, it's going to hit you in the face, the back of your head if you're not looking at him."

“Being a big, you gotta be a good passer…That’s one of things that can carry you on further in your career… [ Arvydas]Sabonis was at the end of his career, but you better be lookin’ at that motherf**ker when he got the ball.”

Sheed on why bigs must be good passers pic.twitter.com/liIGHNpdRp

— Rasheed Wallace (@UnderdogSheed) June 19, 2024

Sabonis didn't arrive in the NBA until he was 31 because he spent the early portion of his career playing overseas in Lithuania. He was considered one of the greatest players in the world. He averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his NBA career.

Sabonis' son, Domantas, is a three-time All-Star who plays for the Sacramento Kings.

"I would probably say out of any other big I played with, he was the best passer, hands down," Wallace said.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com