Marc Gasol’s Mirror Image: Arvydas Sabonis

There’s no doubting that Marc Gasol is a unique player.

Akin to Tim Duncan, Gasol possesses the rare ability to toggle between grace and physical tenacity. At 7-foot-1 and 265 pounds, Gasol uses his robust stature to bludgeon his defenders in the post offensively. Defensively, he utilizes his colossal frame to force his opponents to take errant shots by either altering or blocking them.

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Gasol dominates his opponent by entrenching himself where he wants his opponents to take the shot.

Nonetheless, Gasol’s brute force and shooting touch are just two impressive aspects of his game. His intuition allows him to aid his teammates with excellence as he thoughtfully caters to their defensive needs utilizing his brute force. Scarce are the big men who come into the league with Gasol’s versatile skill set, acumen and passing dexterity.

There is one player in NBA history, however, who’s game was a mirror image of the Memphis Grizzlies center. In fact, several people have compared Gasol’s game to that of Arvydas Sabonis, the injury prone Lithuanian star.

Take for example the head coach of the Miami Heat, who was asked what he thought was the biggest surprise of the 2012 season; he took the opportunity to exalt a then-obscure M. Gasol according to Tom Haberstroh.

Asked Erik Spoelstra what has stood out to him so far around the league. His answer: "Marc Gasol... he's Sabonis."
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) November 20, 2012

Later in an interview with Chris Vernon, Zach Randolph called Gasol a “young Sabonis.” For those who are unaware of Sabonis, here are some highlight videos of both him and Marc — two highly skilled 7-footers.

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Several of their signature moves are eerily similar. They both had the running hook in the lane and an identical jumper, but what sets these two apart from most of the other NBA centers is how they pass out of the post. They both palm the ball and creatively find open teammates with great instincts and dexterity — skills which elude most big men.

Unfortunately for Sabonis, he tore his Achilles in 1986 and was never the same. Most hardcore NBA fans lament that others were never able to see Sabonis in his prime; there were no limits to how great he could’ve become (aside from injuries). There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do on the basketball court. Bill Walton said Sabonis was like a “7’3 Larry Bird.”

He tormented young David Robinson and Co. in the 1988 Olympics so devastatingly that it incentivized the U.S. to send the pros during the next Olympics in ’92, a group that would later be known as the “Dream Team.”

Basketball-Reference’s Similarity Scores attempt to find players whose careers were similar in terms of quality and shape, and it doesn’t come to much surprise that Gasol and Sabonis have an 88.4 similarity score.

Though most NBA fans have never been able to see a seemingly flawless Sabonis dominate every facet of the game, Marc Gasol provides basketball purists with the closest, present-day, Sabonis-incarnation; he’s a nimble, slick-passing mammoth of a center.

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