Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been playing at a high level all season long. He leads the NBA in some impressive statistical categories and is a big reason for his team’s success over the past few weeks. But despite playing like a top-3 player at his position, Sabonis doesn’t quite get the recognition that he deserves.
Domantas Sabonis Is Playing Like A Top-3 Center In The NBA
Domantas Sabonis has helped make the Kings relevant again. Their fortunes shifted upon his arrival in 2022, as he helped lead the franchise to its first playoff appearance in 16 years during his first full season. And while they fell short of the postseason in 2024, Sabonis had arguably the best statistical season of his career, including leading the NBA in rebounds for a second consecutive time. In the process, he was able to notch the most consecutive double-doubles in league history.
He’s continued his stellar play into the 2024-25 regular season. His 14.2 rebounds per game are once again the most of any player, including Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama. His 6.2 assists ranks him 15th in the league overall, averaging more than Steph Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Kings are playing their best basketball since the 2022-23 season, and Domantas Sabonis has been a driving force behind their recent turnaround.
Sabonis over the past 10 games:
20.4 PTS
16.3 REB
6.9 AST
62% FG
65% 3PT
10 double-doubles
9-1 record pic.twitter.com/f0oOM6BBRy— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) January 20, 2025
But those were numbers that we were used to seeing Domantas Sabonis put up. Something that has set him apart from the rest of the big men in the league has been his improvement with long-range shooting.
Sabonis Now Leads The NBA In 3-Point Accuracy
It used to be a shortcoming of his game. Opposing defenses often sagged off of Sabonis when he had the ball near the perimeter, which hampered the Kings’ ability to stretch the floor at times.
The troubles were put on full display during the 2023 playoff series against the Warriors, when Golden State let him shoot at will from the perimeter. Sabonis wound up shooting below 50% from the field for the series overall, and made one of the five three-pointers that he attempted. He was held to 15 points or fewer in four of the seven games of the series, and Sacramento wound up on the losing end.
It wasn’t necessarily that he had a poor shooting average from long range. Sabonis shot 37.3% from deep in 2022-23. But he was obviously hesitant to pull the trigger, as he hoisted just 1.1 attempts per game.
| Year | 3-Point Attempts | Games Played | Average Attempts Per Game | Accuracy |
| 2022-23 | 83 | 79 | 1.1 | 37.3% |
| 2023-24 | 87 | 82 | 1.1 | 37.9% |
| 2024-25 | 93 | 39 | 2.4 | 48.4% |
The Kings coaching staff has obviously encouraged him to shoot more threes. After putting up 87 total attempts last year (making 37.9%) in 82 games, he has already attempted 93 long balls through the first 39 contests. That puts him on a pace to finish with roughly 180 three point shots if he plays in 75 games.
And the strategy seems to be working.
He’s taken a huge leap with his accuracy in 2024-25. Not only has he improved his percentage to an impressive 48.4% clip, it makes Domantas Sabonis the most accurate three-point shooter in the league, better than Jokic who sits in second place at 47.1%.
Kings’ Center Not Getting The National Recognition That He Deserves
Leading the NBA in rebounds and three point accuracy to go along with being top-15 in assists should get you an All-Star appearance, right? If it were up to the fans, Sabonis wouldn’t even come close to making it.
The Western Conference has plenty of quality front court players, including Jokic, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James. They are all in the top three after the latest numbers in fan voting for the 2025 NBA All-Star game. You’d have to look down to nearly the bottom of the top-10 to find Sabonis’ name, as he currently has the 9th most votes of any front court player in the West.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić lead their respective conferences in the third fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. Players and a media panel account for 25% each. pic.twitter.com/FBGGd00GB2
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 16, 2025
Guys like Andrew Wiggins, Alpren Sungun, and Jalen Williams are all held in higher regard amongst the fans.
And compared to the rest of the league? You can make an argument that Domantas Sabonis ranks in the top-3 at his position.
Jokic is of course the best and most skilled center that the league has to offer, evidenced by his three MVP awards. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a multiple MVP winner as well, and is averaging a career high in points. But how many others can you definitively say are performing at a higher level than Sabonis?
| Player | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game | 3-Point Percentage |
| Domantas Sabonis | 20.8 | 14.2* | 6.3 | 48.4%* |
| Nikola Jokić | 30.1* | 13.2 | 9.9* | 47.1% |
| Anthony Davis | 25.6 | 11.8 | 3.5 | 31.8% |
| Victor Wembanyama | 24.4 | 10.8 | 3.7 | 35.4% |
Anthony Davis averages more points, but grabs 2.4 fewer rebounds and shoots 31.7% from deep. His assist numbers don’t even come close. A case can be made for Karl-Anthony Towns, but Sabonis is more efficient, both in his two point and three point shooting. Victor Wembanyama should win the Defensive Player of the Year award, but trails the Kings’ big man in many important offensive and rebounding categories. Does Joel Embiid even play anymore?
Why doesn’t Sabonis get the love and recognition that he deserves?
“Small Market” May Be Holding Sabonis Back From National Spotlight
The most likely reason is the team that he plays for. The Kings are often an afterthought in the national media, brought on by years of Sacramento remaining in the basement of the NBA standings. They are a small market team, and haven’t had more than regional appeal, aside from the days of Chris Webber and company.
When Sabonis and teammate De’Aaron Fox made the All-Star team in 2023, they were the first Kings players to appear since DeMarcus Cousins in 2017. Before Cousins’ first appearance in 2015, Sacramento went 11 years without being represented.
But with back-to-back winning seasons under their belts the past two years, there has been reason to discuss Sabonis, Fox, and the rest of the team. They started off the 2024-25 NBA season slowly, but have won 9 of their last 10 games, and are tied for 8th in the West after being in 11th just a couple of weeks ago.
As the Sacramento Kings gain traction on the current season, Domantas Sabonis should be garnering more national spotlight.
