Domantas Sabonis voted as one of the most overrated players in the NBA

All-NBA forward was not named an all-star despite leading the the league in triple-doubles

Apparently, Domantas Sabonis’ 2023-24 season was somehow overlooked and overrated by his NBA peers at the same time. 

An anonymous poll of NBA players conducted by The Athletic revealed that the former Gonzaga standout and current Sacramento Kings All-NBA forward was among the 14 most overrated players in the association. Sabonis received an estimated 2.5% of the 81 votes, tying him with Patrick Beverly of the Milwaukee Bucks, Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics. Three-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves was voted the most overrated player in the NBA with 13.6% of the votes.

Sabonis, who was snubbed of being named an All-Star earlier this season, is viewed by his peers as one of the most overrated players despite leading the league in rebounds, triple-doubles and double-doubles. He averaged 19.4 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists — a stat line only Wilt Chamberlain has put together before — while racking up 77 double-doubles, the most since Moses Malone in 1978-79, and becoming one of just six players in league history to record at least 26 triple-doubles in a season. 

Sabonis’ unmatched consistency coincides with his extreme durability. Per statmuse.com, his 161 games played over the last two seasons is tied for the fourth-most of any player in that span. Sabonis was one of just six players to start in all 82 games this season.

With Sabonis at the helm alongside De’Aaron Fox, the Kings (46-36) snapped their record-long playoff drought (16 seasons) in 2022-23 and came up just short in the 2024 play-in tournament despite finishing 10 games over .500. Still, Sacramento’s 94 combined wins over the last two seasons is the franchise’s most in a two-year window since 2004-06. 

Whatever reservations some might have about Sabonis in the postseason, he’s still nothing short of a lock to earn All-NBA honors once again after putting together back-to-back historic seasons. His versatility on the offensive end of the floor in dribble-handoffs, post-ups, pick-and-rolls and split screens, combined with his high basketball IQ and toughness on the boards, makes him one of the most complete big men in the association. His athleticism doesn’t jump off the screen nor is he very outspoken, but that doesn’t overshadow his overall impact on winning.

Also worth noting is that Sabonis didn’t receive a single vote in the “overrated player” category in last year’s anonymous player poll from The Athletic. So aside from another highly productive season, why is Sabonis viewed in this regard by his peers?

The most notable change from last season is Sabonis is playing under an extremely lucrative contract he signed in the 2023 offseason. A five-year, $217 million contract, in fact, that made him the 22nd-highest-paid player in the league heading into the 2023-24 season, according to spotrac.com. How much a player is paid can change how they’re perceived by fans and players, though in Sabonis’ case, there’s not much reason to let dollars cloud his overall impact.

Per ESPN, Sabonis ranked 12th in player efficiency rating among qualified players this season. Of those ahead of him in that category, six have higher-paying contracts — Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetekounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Davis. Essentially, the only players who had a higher PER and are under bigger contracts than Sabonis are a two-time MVP and Finals MVP, the reigning MVP, another MVP candidate and All-NBA talent, the league’s leader in assists and a defensive player of the year candidate and NBA champion.

By that logic, there are 15 players more deserving of the label “overrated” based on their higher salary and lower PER compared to Sabonis, yet only four in that group received multiple votes in the anonymous poll. 

Whether money or some other biases against Sabonis, there’s no denying the former Gonzaga standout is one of the best players at his position in the NBA.