Basketball greats Kevin McHale and Arvydas Sabonis are celebrating birthdays on December 19, with McHale turning 67 and Sabonis turning 60.
McHale, a native of Hibbing, MN., was a Boston Celtic from 1980-1993, was a 7-time All-Star in green, making All-NBA First Team once (1987) and winning the Sixth Man of the Year award twice (1984, 1985). He made six All-Defensive teams, with three consecutive 1st team nods from 1986-1988 and 2nd team in 1983, 1989, and 1990. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1981. The Celtics won three championships during the 1980s, in 1981 over the Houston Rockets (in five games, MVP: Cedric Maxwell), 1984 over the Los Angeles Lakers (MVP: Larry Bird) and in 1986 over the Rockets, with Houston this time having both Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson (MVP: Larry Bird).
Just age 23 in 1981, McHale played only 13.8 minutes in that final, but in 1984 averaged 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. In the 1986 Finals, McHale dominated, leading all scorers with a 25.8 per game average (57 percent shooting, 80% from the line) with 8.5 rebounds. He scored 28 points (12-for-19) with 11 rebounds in Game 3, went for 33 points (12-for-23) and 8 rebounds in Game 5, and in the clinching Game 6 (114-97 Celtics), he was 10-for-22 and 9-for-10 from the field for 29 points and 10 rebounds. Bird put up a masterful performance himself, with 29 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.
On March 11, 1987, McHale suffered a broken right foot in a game against the Phoenix Suns and played the rest of the season and playoffs on that foot. He played in 77 games that season, averaging 26.1 points and 9.9 rebounds (60 percent shooting, tops in the league), and was fourth in MVP voting.
Prior to the 1980 NBA Draft, of which the Celtics held the No. 1 overall draft choice, Red Auerbach traded the pick along with another first round pick to the Golden State Warriors for Robert Parish and the third overall draft choice. The Celtics drafted McHale, and he spent the entirety of his career in Boston, retiring after his aged 35 season in 1992-1993.
For his career, the 6 foot, 10 inch power forward known for his exceptional low post play averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds on 55 percent shooting. From 1985-1989, he started 276 games out of 291 games played. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1999.
As a coach, McHale led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 19-12 mark in 2004-2005, and had a 20-43 season in 2008-2009. Three seasons later, in 2011-2012, he became head coach of the Houston Rockets, where he coached them to three consecutive winning seasons from 2012-2015 (45, 54, and 56 wins). In the 2015 playoffs, his Rockets, led by James Harden and Dwight Howard, came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals.
McHale also was General Manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves when they drafted future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett out of high school in 1995.
Sabonis enjoyed an outstanding international career from 1981-1995 before joining the Portland Trail Blazers from 1995-2001 and 2002-2003.
The 7 foot, 3 inch center is regarded as one of the greatest big men in basketball history and certainly one of the greatest European basketball players in history. His ability and accolades overseas are widely discussed, and he is mentioned as someone who would have been an all-time great NBA player had he begun his career in the United States earlier.
Sabonis, from Kaunas, Lithuania, won three consecutive USSR Premier Basketball League championships from 1985-1987, was a FIBA Club World Cup champion in 1986, a Liga ACB champion in 1993 and 1994, a Spanish Cup champion in 1993, and a FIBA European League champion in 1995.
He was Mr. Europa Player of the Year in 1985 and 1997, a 6-time Euroscar Player of the Year (given to the best player in Europe) in 1984, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1997, and 1999, a 4-time Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year (1984-1986, 1996), named to FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1991, and EuroBasket MVP in 1985. He was a 2-time EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer (1986, 1995), 2-time Spanish All-Star Game MVP (1991, 1992), 2-time Spanish League MVP (1994, 1995), and Spanish League Finals MVP in 1993 and 1994. In 1993, he led the FIBA European League in rebounding, and led the EuroLeague in rebounds, blocks, and PIR (Performance Index Rating) in 2004, while also being All-EuroLeague MVP, All-EuroLeague 1st Team, and EuroLeague Top 16 MVP in 2004. His No. 11 is retired by Basketball Club Žalgiris, with whom he played for from 1981-1989 and 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. He also spent time with Forum Valladolid (1989-1992), and Real Madrid (1992-1995). Sabonis won a Gold Medal in the Olympics for the Soviet Union in 1988 and Bronze medals in 1992 and 1996. In 1992’s semifinal game in Barcelona, Sabonis - who had undergone achilles surgery in 1988 prior to that year’s Olympics - put up 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists on 4-for-17 against the Dream Team.
Known as one of the greatest passers in basketball history, Sabonis was selected 24th overall in 1986 by the Portland Trail Blazers, coming over in 1995. In his first NBA season, he averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds on 55 percent shooting (9.9 shot attempts per game), and was named to the All-Rookie 1st team. His best season in the NBA came in 1997-1998, when he averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 49 percent shooting in 73 games (32 minutes per game) at age 33. The season prior (1996-1997) he set his NBA career-high in points, when he scored 33 points and had 12 rebounds and 3 assists (11-14 from the field, 8-14 from the free-throw line and 3-3 from downtown) in a 110-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
After the 2000-2001 season, he retired before playing one more NBA season in 2002-2003. Over his seven years in the NBA, he played in 470 games, starting 314 and averaging 24.2 minutes per game, with averages of 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks.
Prior to his injuries, Arvydas looked like a bigger version of his son, Domantas - who is 28 and currently a 3-time All-Star and 2-time rebounding leader with the Sacramento Kings - with comparable athleticism. At 7 foot, 3 inches, Arvydas displayed unique athleticism for a man his size to go along with his skill set. Arvydas was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2011.
Happy Birthday to hoop legends Kevin McHale and Arvydas Sabonis.
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