Kings’ Domantas Sabonis Ranked as Top 10 Big Man for 2023-24 NBA Season

The Sacramento Kings are coming off their best season in the last 17 years. Led by All-NBA duo De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings went from one of the most embarrassing franchises in sports to a top-three seed in the Western Conference in just one season.

After Bleacher Report recognized Fox as the 8th-best guard heading into next season, they gave Sabonis a similar ranking among his big-man peers. B/R ranked Sabonis as the 10th-best big man for the 2023-24 NBA season.

Bleacher Report’s top 15 bigs for next season:

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Joel Embiid
4. Anthony Davis
5. Karl-Anthony Towns
6. Pascal Siakam
7. Bam Adebayo
8. Zion Williamson
9. Jaren Jackson Jr.
10. Domantas Sabonis
11. Evan Mobley
12. Kristaps…
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 30, 2023

After playing four seasons for the Indiana Pacers, Sabonis made his way to Sacramento. The Kings made a trade-deadline blockbuster deal in 2022 centered around sending Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to Indiana in exchange for Sabonis.

In his first complete season in Sacramento, Sabonis helped the Kings go from a 30-win team and last in the Pacific Division to 48 wins and first in the division.

Sabonis makes as much of an impact on the Kings as any other All-Star does for their team, especially one of the questionable names ranked ahead of him on the list: New Orleans Pelicans' Zion Williamson.

Williamson has played over 30 games in just one season, including appearing in only 29 games over the past two years. When healthy, Williamson is a talented player, but ranking him above the three-time All-Star and 2023 All-NBA 3rd Team selection, Domantas Sabonis, is questionable.

Bleacher Report emphasized why Sabonis is lower than he could be on the list:

"The Warriors exposed Sabonis' weaknesses in the playoffs. They played way off him on offense, daring him to shoot, which limited his effectiveness. The bigger issue was his inability to protect the rim or offer any resistance to Stephen Curry off ball screens. Sabonis has too much talent to not adjust to what the Warriors did to him on offense, but his defensive shortcomings might always follow him and prevent him from getting to the next rankings tier."

While Sabonis struggled in the 2023 first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, the uncertainty around him this off-season from NBA media should fuel him to continue to improve those aspects of his game.

Sabonis has been one of the most consistent NBA players in the past five seasons and is expected to continue his All-Star play in the 2023-24 season. While Sabonis is undoubtedly a top 10 big man in the NBA, he has earned more respect than the 10th spot.

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