Proper floor spacing is an essential part of the modern NBA game.

With a whole summer to prepare for his first full season as head coach of the Sacramento Kings, Doug Christie has a plan to improve spacing at the offensive end of the floor.

Domantas Sabonis often initiates the offense from the elbow or the top of the arc before dropping down to the baseline near the basket – an area known as the dunker spot – which allows his defender to provide paint protection. Christie wants to utilize his two-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA center a bit differently this season.

Sabonis will continue to use his elite passing abilities as a key facilitator and playmaker, but Christie wants him to operate from different spots to prevent defenses from crowding the middle of the floor. When asked what will change, Sabonis said: “Little things like, if I’m the dunker, space out instead of being there and try to make the big guard a nontraditional wing.”

Sabonis said he is embracing Christie’s plan.

“It lets me do what I do on offense, getting guys open more frequently, instead of being under the rim, an undersized big, I can’t do as much as I do out on the perimeter,” Sabonis said.

“I do all the DHO (dribble handoff) stuff, the pick-and-roll stuff on the wing. I can either shoot, drive, get into more stuff whereas, when the guards are doing that, I’m in the dunker, not really a threat down there. Now, teams will have to respect me not just creating, but being aggressive, too.”

Sabonis averaged 19.1 points, a league-high 13.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists last season, down from 7.3 assists in 2022-23 and a career-high 8.2 assists in 2023-24. His assist numbers could go back up as a primary facilitator in an offense that will feature Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk.

Sabonis shot 59% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range last season while doubling his volume to 2.2 3-point attempts per game. He said he worked on a quicker release over the summer.

Christie wants Sabonis to continue to shoot the ball when he gets open looks.

“If he’s open, I want him to shoot the basketball because once he’s knocking them down it changes the complexion of the entire offense,” Christie said. “All of a sudden, the big has to come out, he has to help, and now things just change all around the board.”

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