Domantas Sabonis enters the 2023-24 NBA season as one of the league's best players
Former Gonzaga men's basketball standout forward Domantas Sabonis was at the forefront of NBA history last season.
The 6-foot-11 Lithuanian formed a dynamic duo with Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox to fuel the franchise to its first playoff appearance in 16 seasons, which was previously the longest drought in NBA history. The Kings finished with the highest offensive rating the league has ever seen largely because of Sabonis, who was named to the All-NBA third team and finished sixth in the MVP award race.
From dissecting defenses with dribble hand-offs, backdoor passes and powerful post-ups, Sabonis was a jack-of-all-trades punisher who brought the Kings to national prominence. He was a dominant glass-cleaner who made everyone around him better on offense, as he led the NBA with 12.3 rebounds to go along with a career-best 7.3 assists. Averaging an efficient 19.1 points per game on 61% shooting from the field, Sabonis joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to average 19-plus points, 12-plus rebounds and 7-plus assists on 60% or better shooting from the field in a single season.
Sabonis and the high-octane Kings were must-watch TV last season, and given the latest resurgence of versatile big men in the NBA, there's reason to suspect similar success out of Sacramento once again in the 2023-24 season.
As Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets take the league by storm, the Kings will continue to use Sabonis in a similar fashion. The two-man game between him and Fox is very similar to the way Jokic and Jamal Murray play off each other. Sabonis' high basketball IQ makes him a threat from just about anywhere on the offensive end, as he can operate in the high post or put his back to the basket and back down a defender on the low block.
His impact on winning basketball was valued highly by the Kings, as the two sides agreed to a five-year, $217 million contract extension in the offseason that will keep Sabonis in Sacramento for the foreseeable future.
For all the positives Sabonis brings to the table offensively, he struggled against the Golden State Warriors' small-ball lineups in the postseason. Turnovers and fouls became a problem as Draymond Green and Co. limited Sabonis' impact as a scorer and passer throughout the seven-game series. He managed to average a double-double, but he also turned over the ball 3.7 times and committed 4.0 personal fouls per game.
A right thumb injury suffered in December can also be attributed to Sabonis' shortcomings in the playoffs, as well as a sternum contusion he sustained in Game 2 against Golden State. After a successful surgery and a full offseason away from the Lithuanian national team to rest, Sabonis is expected to bounce back to his All-NBA form.
Despite his shortcomings in the playoffs, Sabonis will likely enter the 2023-24 season as a near-consensus top-25 player in the league. Bleacher Report ranked him as the 35th player on its top 100 players list, while CBS Sports placed him 34th. With the Kings running back the same core from 2022-23, continuity and experience bodes well for another stellar campaign from Sabonis.
