Domantas Sabonis to star in NBA documentary series on Netflix
Gonzaga men's basketball fans are about to get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the program's most successful NBA players.
According to Shams Charania, Domantas Sabonis was among five NBA players who will star in a new NBA documentary series on Netflix, which released a similar show "Quarterback" last July. Along with the Sacramento Kings forward, the series will highlight superstars LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards. The yet-to-be-named series is produced by several groups, including The SpringHill Company founded by James and his agent Maverick Carter, Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions and Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions.
Netflix has done well for itself when it comes to producing high-quality shows centered around sports stories, such as "Drive To Survive" for F1 and "Full Swing" for golf. The "Untold" series that debuted in 2021 features episodes on the Malice at the Palace, the rise and fall of AND1 and the betting scandal surrounding NBA official Tim Donaghy. Not to mention, the success of "Quarterback," which shed light on the lives of Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota in an eight-part series last summer.
Now it's the NBA's turn to go under the spotlight, and Netflix reportedly has quite the cast assembled for its first season.
Sabonis' story is unique as the son of Hall-of-Fame center Arvydas Sabonis, who thrived with the Portland Trail Blazers after years of dominating overseas in Spain. Domantas, born in Portland, was the youngest member of Unicaja Malaga (Spain) at 18 years old, but refused to sign a contract due to his desire to play college basketball. In came Gonzaga with the recruiting pitch, and the rest is history.
As a sophomore, Sabonis became an NBA-level talent as he averaged 17.6 points and 11.8 rebounds. His 23 double-doubles in the 2015-16 season were the fifth-most in the country. After leading Gonzaga to the Sweet 16, Sabonis was the 11th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, which immediately traded his draft rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Fast forward eight years later, and Sabonis is an All-NBA caliber forward, a rebounding champion and a three-time All-Star at the helm of a dynamic Kings squad that's in line to make back-to-back appearances in the postseason. Sabonis has recorded the second-most triple-doubles this season with nine, two short of Nikola Jokic, and has just started playing his best basketball with the start of the new year. Over his last five games, the 6-foot-11 Lithuanian put up 24.6 points, 15.4 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game while shooting 64.3% from the floor.
Netflix has yet to confirm a release date for the new NBA documentary.
