When Domantas Sabonis arrived to the Sacramento Kings in the trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers, Kings fans were skeptical.
They traded away a young, rising star for a player who had been in the league for years without making a major team breakthrough.
The son of the legendary Arvydas Sabonis clearly took that doubt personally, because the rest is history. For most teams, simply snapping a 17-year playoff drought wouldn’t be called history, but if you ask Sac-Town fans, it absolutely was.
The Kings finally found a franchise center
After years of searching for a big man, the Kings finally found a franchise center they could build their system around, just like they did years before with the likes of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and DeMarcus Cousins. And while Sabonis, now in his prime, continues to play at a high level, ESPN ranked the Lithuanian center only 34th on its Top 100 list for the upcoming season.
“Sabonis’ raw per-game production through the past half-decade puts him among the game’s elite names. He has finished third, second, first and first in the NBA in rebounds in the past four seasons. Among centers in 2024-25, his 423 assists were behind only Nikola Jokic. Sabonis has averaged at least 18.5 points in the past six seasons.”
“He had a small uptick in 3-point volume last season and made 41 percent of his 2.2 attempts per game. But he doesn’t protect the rim in a fearsome way and has generally needed the ball to be effective while on a Kings team with other ball-dominant players. That strange mix has kept the team out of the playoffs for two straight seasons,” Anthony Slater wrote.
Sabonis dropped five spots in ESPN’s rankings
Interestingly, compared to last season, Sabonis dropped five spots in ESPN’s rankings despite the numbers showing he led the league in double-doubles for the third straight season, becoming the first player since Kevin Garnett did it from 2002 to 2007.
Slater also noted he was the back-to-back rebounding champ and the only center with more assists than him was Nikola Jokic.
Last season, Domas averaged 19.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 59.0 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. Dominant and efficient, but the team’s success didn’t follow, as the Kings ultimately missed the playoffs.
This isn’t the first time he’s been underrated either as The Athletic ranked him only as the 10th-best center heading into the new season, placing Jokic first.
“Next part of the list might be controversial. Mostly, there are plenty of Sabonis people who will think he should be higher. I don’t think he’s bad by any means, but I do believe his lack of defense and inability to play with other big men lowers his ceiling. Also, it wouldn’t shock me if Sengun ends up climbing this list quickly,” Zach Harper wrote.
Sabonis deserves more recognition
Harper’s argument about Sabonis’ defense holds water, as that’s been a chronic weakness for the Kings. He also tends to need quicker, more athletic and mobile teammates around him. We saw this clearly with the Lithuanian national team, where he struggled playing alongside Jonas Valanciunas.
Those are obvious flaws in his game, but it’s impossible to ignore that Sabonis has been one of the league’s top all-around players for three straight seasons, leading the entire NBA in triple-doubles just two seasons ago, and that, as a franchise centerpiece, he brought Sacramento back to the playoffs after nearly two decades.
Sabonis simply deserves better than 34th place despite the flaws Slater named.