Domantas Sabonis came to Sacramento last season with huge expectations and perhaps the most difficult job in all of sports: to get the Sacramento Kings back to the playoffs. The Kings gave up one of the most promising young players in the entire league, Tyrese Haliburton, in order to get Sabonis, and the trade would only end up worth it if Sabonis could somehow be a huge part of a Kings turnaround. At the time, it didn’t necessarily seem all that likely, as the Kings were in the midst of a historic 16 year playoff drought and went just 5-10 in the 15 games Sabonis played immediately after the trade.
The Kings made some notable additions in the following offseason, namely adding a bunch of shooters in Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and rookie Keegan Murray who could hopefully feed off both Sabonis and fellow star De’Aaron Fox. But most important of all was the hiring of head coach Mike Brown, who looked at Sacramento’s roster and built an offense centered around Sabonis.
Sabonis became the engine that made the Kings run. While De’Aaron Fox was still unquestionably the team’s best player and leading scorer, Sabonis ran the offense from the high post. Mike Brown built an offense the heavily featured the Dribble Handoff (DHO), a play the Kings ran more than any other team in the league, with Sabonis alone totaling more than most teams. According to research done in an excellent article by Zach Kram on the Ringer, Sabonis alone totaled more than 1,000 DHO for the season. At the time of the article, which was published as the season was nearly complete, no other player in the league had even 40% of Sabonis’ total.
Sabonis established excellent rapport with several players, particularly Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray. Per NBA.com, Sabonis assisted on 35.4% of Huerter’s total field goals and 32.8% of Murray’s. Both players were utilized heavily in both hand offs and off ball cuts, and Sabonis did a great job of finding them and others for open looks. As a result, Sabonis ended up leading the Kings with 7.3 assists a game. Not only was that the best mark for a Sacramento Kings big man ever, it was one of the best marks for a Kings player at all, tied for 5th in the Sacramento-era. It was also one of the best marks in the entire league for the season, tied with Damian Lillard for 10th. Only Nikola Jokić finished with more assists as a big man on the season. Sabonis’ playmaking was a big reason the Kings finished with the best offensive rating in NBA history, and it was even higher when he was on the floor; Per basketball-reference, the Kings were 6 points per 100 possessions better on offense when Sabonis was on the floor.
But Sabonis was more than just a playmaker for others, he was also Sacramento’s second leading scorer, averaging 19.1 points a game on a career-high 61.5% from the field. Again, only Jokić scored more points while shooting a higher percentage. Jarrett Allen is in third place but scored just 14.3 points per game.
Most of Sabonis’ damage was done in the paint. 80.1% of his total field goal attempts came from less than 10 feet, and he shot a very efficient 65.7% on those attempts. Only Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo made more field goals than Sabonis in that range. Outside of the paint, Sabonis was far more selective in his shot selection. While he shot 37.3% from distance on the season, a decent percentage, he only attempted 1.5 threes on the season, his lowest mark since his fourth season. He shot an excellent 51.2% from 10-16 feet, but only 4.4% of his total attempts came from that area, a career low. He also shot 44.4% from 16 feet to the three point line, but only 5.8% of his attempts came from there. This is definitely an area where he can improve, especially as evidenced in the playoffs, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
One of the main questions surrounding Sabonis’ fit in Sacramento was if he could anchor a defense. Sabonis has never been considered a shotblocker or paint protector, and that didn’t change this season either, as he averaged just 0.7 blocks a game and the Kings allowed the fifth highest points in the paint in the entire league. The Kings were also a better defensive team when Sabonis was off the floor by about 4.1 points per 100 possessions. But the numbers don’t show Sabonis as some terrible paint defender. In fact, opponents shot 3.4% worse than league average when facing Sabonis within 6 feet of the rim per NBA.com. Sabonis struggled more as a perimeter defender instead, with opponents shooting 4.5% better than league average on shots greater than 15 feet and 4.1% better on threes when guarded by Sabonis.
Sabonis has been a part of a good defensive team before with the Pacers, so we know it’s possible that he can be part of a good defense, but the Kings as a whole didn’t have the necessary personnel around him to be a great defensive team, especially on the perimeter. One of the reasons the Kings allowed so many paint opportunities was because they couldn’t prevent players on the perimeter from attacking, and while Sabonis has good fundamentals, he doesn’t have the athleticism or length to be an effective deterrent by himself.
One area where Sabonis excelled on defense however was rebounding. After all, a defensive possession isn’t successful if you can’t secure the rebound and there were few players better at cleaning the glass than Sabonis this season. In fact, he led the entire league in rebounds per game with 12.3 a game. Only Chris Webber (13.0 in 1998-99) and DeMarcus Cousins (12.7 in 2014-15) have managed to have better rebounding seasons for the Kings in the Sacramento era. In large part due to Sabonis, the Kings had the 7th best defensive rebounding rate in the entire league, up from 21st the prior year.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Sabonis however. His biggest struggles of the season came in the first playoff matchup with the Golden State Warriors, who focused a large part of their gameplan on slowing him down and removing some of the tools he had been using to excel during the season. Sabonis averaged 16.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the 7 game series, and also saw his field goal percentage drop to 49.5%. The biggest drop of course was in the assists, as the Warriors looked to eliminate the dribble handoff game, and also at times dared Sabonis to shoot. Too often, he wouldn’t look to take the shot attempt, and even if he did, the Warriors were happy to live with the result given his lack of proven ability to hit those outside shots.
Kevon Looney was also a tough matchup for Sabonis, as he was both stronger and longer than Sabonis, and even though he was slower, he didn’t fall for many of the fakes that Sabonis often used to get defenders off their feet. Looney was also able to outmaneuver Sabonis on the glass, where he killed the Kings with timely offensive rebounds. That series was definitely a teaching moment for Sabonis, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kings have him shoot a bit more outside of the paint next season so that teams can’t go to that same strategy again and again. He needs to get comfortable with that shot, even if it’s just an elbow jumper.
Regardless of his playoff struggles, Sabonis’ year was still one for the record books. He became Sacramento’s single season record holder for both double-doubles (65) and triple-doubles (14) as well as total rebounds (973). In fact, he’s already tied with Chris Webber for most triple doubles as a Sacramento King already off this one season alone. He became the 7th player in Sacramento Kings history to make an All-Star team, and 6th player to make an All-NBA team. Oh, and I completely forgot to mention that he broke his thumb midway through the season and only ended up missing one game because of it.
Sabonis has already made his mark in Sacramento in just a year and a half, but should he continue to improve and refine his game (and also re-sign with the team next season), he has a chance to be a part of something special and join other Kings greats in the rafters.
In case you missed out any of our other Season Reviews for the 2022-23 season, check them out here.
The greatest Jewish NBA player since Amar’e Stoudemire. L’chaim, Domantas Shalomus!
Oy Vey! Here he is pictured with his new shooting coach, Luke Lox
(Ox and Lox! and Fox!)
Great write-up…
This part alone already worths Huerter staying….………
I just don’t understand some other fans so eager to trade away Huerter……..as he is a big part of our offense….
Also, I doubt OG can do the same with Sabonis…..(in case Huerter was used as a trade bait for OG)….
And I hope Sabonis can watch Jokic’s firm to learn more from him…
The Kings can find a two-guard who doesn’t need Domas to spoon-feed him all his shots.
Tremendous season from Domas, well above expectations. He definitely has a chance to be a legendary King.
I would love to see him work on his 3 and get up to 3-4 attempts per game next season. A consistent long ball from Domas truly makes him mini Jokic, and would neutralize those few players like Looney that can stand up to him in the post.
I kind of chuckle at idea the Sabonis really can’t shot from 3. He shot 37% season, and is a career 32.6% from three. His partner in crime, Fox, shot 32% and is career 32.1% from three, yet doesn’t seem to get the same distinction as a non-3pt shooter. We tend to knock Sabonis for it, but not Fox.
IMO, if Brown really wants to unlock this offense, it’s to get Fox to be a reliable shooter from deep, not Sabonis. Let Domas run the offense. Just imagie the DHO with Fox being able to hit from 3. He’d be unguardable with his quickness. He could pump fake and blow by the defender or simply rise up and hit a respectable percentage.
He’s definitely capable, though his release is pretty slow. OKC really focused on this aspect of his game in his rookie season (2.0 attempts in only 20mpg). It’s a “why not both” situation for me. Defenses currently allow Domas the open three, so he needs to take it more frequently to change how he’s guarded in these marginal situations.
I think that you have to take the sample size into account.
Having said that, I agree Domas will have to start shooting from distance a bit more.
Instead shooting threes how about twos at the 12 to 15 foot space. If he would have not could have made those twos in the playoofs that would have brought the Warriors out to defend then those passing lanes would have been open. One of Domas’s strengths is his his passing. The Warriors took that away. Sabonis is a unselfish player and needs to be more selfish in regard to shooting twos at those spots. He can also shoot threes IMO.
Good point, Jack! Domas needs to work on shooting from mid-range, Fox needs to work on the long-ball.
What I find interesting about the Warrior series is how well the Dubs took Sabonis AND Fox out of their regular games. We know they really worked to stifle the DHO and dared Sabonis to shoot, but they also gave Fox the green light and let him take the bulk of 3’s. De’Aaron lofted up 9 three point attempts per game in that series, good for 63 total shots. That is nearly double the attempts he averaged in the regular season!
I was equally shocked to see that to Fox’s 63 attempts from deep, Huerter and Monk were tied for second at just 39 attempts. Murray was at only 32. Kerr and company were fine with Fox taking all those threes because they knew his percentages were in the low 30’s.
Sabonis is why this team wins.
Put guards around him that can play defense and we win more.
Then goes on to explain how Sabonis just put up record numbers and had a historically great season.
Honest question for everyone here, if we had to state it as fact, who is the Kings best player?
IMO, it’s Sabonis, and it really isn’t that close. Leading rebounder in the league, team leader in assists, record number of double-doubles and triple-doubles, 61% from the floor, and all done with a broken thumb. This Kings roster would have been a 30ish win team without him.
I think the more accurate question is who the most important player is.
Fox is the best player, Sabonis the more irreplaceable player.
Sabonis is a consistent elbow jumper away from being bulletproof.
Yeah, that’s even more accurate. Thanks.
But he shot 51% from 10-16 feet. Does that not qualify as consistent, or is it that he just needs to shoot more from the elbow?
Maybe the dilema is would we or the coaching staff prefer he shoot more or assist more? Would him shooting more decrease his assist opportunities to better shooters?
I think what Golden State exposed was the opportunity not to body him up at the elbow – to fill the passing lanes instead and force him to either shoot from the elbow or drive into traffic.
The elbow jumper was a key ingredient to the Webber’s success as his part in the golden age offense. I see the same sort of opportunity for Sabonis.
And 1 – Sabonis shot 74% from the free throw line last year. Given that, I would like to see his percentage on open elbow jumpers to be in excess of 51%. I’m betting that he would like to see it, too.
I see it the same way
He definitely could’t assit around the basket because of what the Warriors were doing clouging the lanes.
Sabonis is fantastic. I’m scared as hell he might leave us next offseason, but he’s not an immovable object, or an unstoppable force. Davion is an immovable object. Fox is an unstoppable force. Domas may be the hardest working big in the NBA. Effort gets you so far. Fox and Sabonis were both essential to what the Kings accomplished this last season. I would say discerning who’s more important is a lot like the chicken and egg thing. Which part of the checkerboard holds it together, white or black?
I really enjoy how at the time of the trade, Sabonis’ All-Star appearances were dismissed by naysayers, and the thought was he wouldn’t be an All-Star in the West. In his first full season in the West, he made the All-Star team.
And All-NBA!
great season from Domas! article covers it well.
I remember feeling torn at the time of the Sabonis-Hali trade; I understood it from the perspective of when you’re a bad team, the only way you can get a good player is to trade your best asset (and I knew Sabonis was a really good player), but I was going to miss Hali and what he could’ve potentially become.
In the end, I’m so glad things worked out well with Sabonis for this year. Couple that with getting decent players around him and Fox, and hiring a good coach, you can just tell that the players all have chemistry together and that they’d run into a brick wall for Coach Brown. I hope Sabonis can work on those jumpers/three’s this offseason and come into next season even more of an offensive force. And I hope his hand recovery is going good too and will be back to normal by next season.
Sabonis was awesome, plain and simple. I think if he improves in two areas, consistently taking/making the free throw line/elbow distance jumpers and not being quite so lefty dependent on the blocks, he can move even closer to Jokic gold standard of big man play. He wasn’t Bagley level in his reliance on his left, but I thought there were times when he defaulted that way and it lent itself to more difficult shots.
But honestly, he was so good and valuable to the team that the minor criticisms above almost feel like nit picking. Love the guy and I hope he chooses to extend and stay with us.
The broken right thumb he played the last 50 or so games with might have had some influence on the leftiness.
Domas is true sport warrior . His many strengths and unselfishness far outnumber his few flaws . Joy to watch and a reason for continued optimism .
Not sure of the correct metaphor for the two stars that drive this Kings team – Engine and Gas perhaps for Sabonis and Fox.
The beauty of this last playoff drought busting 18 game improvement season was the team first attitude of Sac’s two stars. Great synergy there- and it was that way from the start of the Mike Brown hire: Keegan having lunch with De’Aaron and Domas, the photos of the Heurter and Davion and Domas at the VSL games. The retreat to The Sabonis Estate in Napa.
That spells out Leader. And we saw Fox embrace that role as well.
Domas is one hard wrasslin’ butt bustin’, tough as nails hombre on the court and the biggest smiling, well spoken (in Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, French and English – at least) gentleman off the hardwood. He is an ambassador of the Kings franchise (along with De’Aaron and Harrison Barnes) and of the sport.
The guy was seemingly relentless this season and his determination, as much as anything carried the Kings to the super season they had.
Well said.
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