Sacramento Kings Star Helped Facilitate NBA Finals, But He’s Not Playing in it originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The NBA Finals are officially set as the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 on Thursday night.
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Of course, the Thunder were easily able to advance past the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals while the Pacers defeated the New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance.
Now the two teams will battle it out with the championship on the line and the series also features two of the best point guards in the NBA in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton.
Both players were acquired by the teams in a trade that changed the path of their franchise and there is one common theme to both trades and Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis is that piece.
Mar 17, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) reacts after a play during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. © Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Sabonis was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2016 draft where they then traded him to the Thunder.
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Oklahoma City then sent him to the Pacers in the Paul George trade in 2017, a trade that set the Thunder up to acquire their new face of the franchise.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives against LA Clippers guard Norman Powell at Intuit Dome.Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
Of course, the Thunder sent George to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019 in the trade that landed them Shai and a ton of draft capital that helped them build their current roster.
This would not have been possible without Sabonis but the Thunder are not the only team that landed their franchise star by dealing Sabonis.
After acquiring Sabonis from Oklahoma City in 2017, Indiana then sent him to Sacramento for Haliburton at the trade deadline in 2022, a trade that has worked well for the Pacers.
Feb 3, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots the ball while Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) defends in the second quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
While trading Sabonis has worked out perfectly for both the Pacers and Thunder as he helped facilitate their rosters that has led them to the NBA Finals, Sabonis has reached the playoffs just once with the Kings.
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Because of this and the uncertainty of his future in Sacramento, it may be time for the Kings to see if the luck in trading Sabonis can work out for them this offseason as they try to turn their franchise around.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.