Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis is off to a sensational start to the 2024-25 season.
As he enters his third full season with the Kings, Sabonis has a slightly different role this time around.
Rather than being leaned on to be the second offensive option behind rising young guard De’Aaron Fox, the veteran big man is now considered the third scoring option behind Fox and DeMar DeRozan, who the Kings acquired in the offseason.
While he’s taking one less shot attempt per game, he’s converting at a ridiculous efficiency with a career-high 64.1% shooting clip through the first 14 games of the season. He ranks fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage and is averaging more points per game (20.1) than any of the players ranked in the top five in field goal percentage.
“Just have to be more efficient (with fewer shots),” says Sabonis in a one-on-one interview, who is speaking on behalf of the release of his new wine, Ones by Sabonis. “With DeMar and Fox, any time in games, we’re all about winning. So we’re going to go to our guys.”
Sabonis is fully embracing his new role in Sacramento. Even though he may be seeing a slight dip in shot attempts, he’s still averaging more points per game than last season and is averaging 12.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
The 28-year-old veteran understands why the Kings need to go through Fox and DeRozan, considering their histories as clutch players in the fourth quarter. Fox is the reigning Clutch Player of the Year and is coming off of a monster 60-point performance in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, DeRozan has a history of hitting clutch shots and previously led the Toronto Raptors deep in the playoffs.
“De’Aaron Fox has been Clutch Player of the Year, you know they’re the clutchest players in the league,” says Sabonis. “Why not go to your strengths in the fourth quarter and take advantage of that? It’s about winning at the end of the day. We’ve done everything individually, we all just want that one common goal of winning a championship.”
De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan are all smiles for Kings' media day 😀
(via @SacramentoKings) pic.twitter.com/pLS2KXZDCn
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 1, 2024
The addition of six-time All-Star guard DeRozan is hopefully the missing piece that will make the Kings an annual playoff contender. Sacramento missed the playoffs last season after snapping their 17-year playoff drought with a surprise playoff appearance in 2023.
DeRozan has averaged 21.2 points per game in his career and has seven playoff appearances to his name. His ability to sink the mid-range along with his solid efficiency — he’s already converting at a 52.6% clip this season, the second-highest of his career — makes him a seamless fit in Sacramento.
“He’s a very high IQ player,” says Sabonis of DeRozan. “Anytime you add a Hall of Fame player to your roster, it definitely helps. The best part about him is, anyone who asks questions, he’s willing to open up and tell you all the secrets, tell you all the experiences you need to know. That’s been really big for us. His experience is helping us down the stretch, taking care of games and really putting a different mindset. He’s coming here for all the right reasons to win and so are we.”
The Kings clinched a playoff berth as the third seed and winners of the Pacific Division with a 48-34 record a couple years prior. However, they missed the playoffs with a 46-36 record just a year ago as the division and the Western Conference became a whole lot more competitive. All five of the Pacific Division teams finished with at least a .500 record last season, but only three of them made it to the playoffs.
Through the first month of this season, four of the five Pacific Division teams are at least .500, with the Los Angeles Clippers just a game under .500.
“You have to come prepared every night,” says Sabonis. “Obviously, in the NBA, if you don’t come prepared, you can lose, especially in the West, because you’re playing against the best. Everyone’s fighting for that spot. Like I said, last year we had two less wins. We ended up being the ninth seed after being the third seed the previous year. Every game matters, every win matters, especially this year.”
From Us, To You. 🍷 ⁰
Today, my wife, Shashana, and I announced the launch of our new Napa Valley wine brand, Ones.Ones is our ode to agriculture, to Napa, to good wine and to family time. Our first publicly accessible vintage, a 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, is now available. pic.twitter.com/t9mRaqfbTD
— Domantas Sabonis (@Dsabonis11) November 15, 2024
Sabonis explains what the key is for the Kings if they want to make a return to the playoffs — they have to win the games they’re supposed to win. Last season, Sacramento too often lost games they should have won.
“(We need to) mentally lock in,” says Sabonis. “Last year, we beat all the best teams and then lost the next night against the lower tier teams. That kind of actually put us into a situation where we had to play the play-in, we were two games from being the sixth seed. If we can figure this out this year and take every game seriously, it’s going to put us in a better position. The West is so stacked this year. We can’t afford to do what we did last year and not show up for every game.”
So far this season, the Kings have done a decent job of that, going 6-3 against teams with losing records. However, they are coming off of a recent 116-96 loss at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. It’s worth noting that the game was an away back-to-back and against a Spurs team that is much improved from their 22-60 showing last season, the second-worst mark in the Western Conference.
A lot of that has to do with the continued emergence of the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama, who continues to make strides and will likely finish the season as an MVP candidate this year. Wembanyama scored 34 points and chipped in 14 rebounds with six assists while matched up against Sabonis. Meanwhile, Sabonis posted a solid 23-point, 12-rebound, four-assist line in the loss.
The 6-foot-10 Sabonis explains how unique it is in matching up against the tallest player in the NBA and a guy who can play like he’s much smaller than he actually is.
“You have to feel him around the court all of the time,” says Sabonis of Wembanyama. “His presence is there on defense. You have to look around, he’s so long and always looking to disrupt any kind of shot or pass. You’re always aware of that. Their whole offense, they’re looking to get a quick shot, so you can’t really relax. He’s doing great. He’s being aggressive and taking advantage of his opportunities.”
Kevin Garnett talking about the time he played with Domantas Sabonis’ father, Arvydas Sabonis.
“His dad was the best in the world, hands down.” pic.twitter.com/hlg9zRVswg
— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) October 12, 2024
As Sabonis looks to achieve more playoff success and hopefully win a championship in his ninth season, he preaches some key advice that he’s learned from his dad, Arvydas, a basketball legend who is a FIBA Hall of Famer and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
“He’s always saying take care of your body,” Sabonis says of his dad’s advice. “At the end of the day, no matter how good you are, if you’re not healthy and on the court, it’s certainly not good for anybody. He’s always on me about taking care of my body, staying hydrated, getting your rest, taking your nap and that’s been a big part of my lifestyle. It enables me to play at the highest level and compete every game.”
Although Arvydas certainly has the basketball resume to be giving Domantas advice and tips on the regular, he actually most allows his son to do his “own thing” as he looks out to carve out his own basketball legacy.
“He’s always let me do my own thing, like my games, he’ll text me now and then about some things,” says Sabonis. “I love that because he lets me have my own path. If he sees something really big, he’ll point it out. But if not, he’s just there, checking in every now and then.”
Sabonis will look to continue his hot start to the season moving forward and hopefully lead the Kings back into the playoffs with their revamped core featuring DeRozan.
