"Maybe you should take a break too, Coach. Not everyone has nuclear energy."
"Looks like you're quite satisfied with rest, even though you were saying you wanted to keep playing before."
"I'm just used to it, instinctively... I'm accustomed to playing through injuries. Now that I can rest a bit, I feel good."
As Sabonis spoke these words, he took another drink of vodka, the 1.5-liter bottle was nearly empty.
Since officially joining the Soviet national team, as long as Sabonis was physically able, he hardly ever missed a game – no matter if it was important or not.
Logically speaking, someone as crucial as him, with injuries lurking, should have been conserved for critical moments. He should've skipped the inconsequential games if possible.
But the national team still made him play as much as possible, which led to frequent injuries. He was often forced to play before fully recovering, causing wounds that couldn't heal properly.
