3x NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

The Sacramento Kings have had a disastrous 2025-26 season with a 12-44 record at the All-Star break, sitting in last place in the Western Conference with 26 games to go. As they ride an active 14-game losing streak, the Kings have been dealt two significant injury blows in the past week.

After Kings star Zach LaVine was announced to have undergone season-ending surgery to repair his finger, three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis is set to join him on the sideline for the rest of the season.

ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Sabonis also underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

"Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis underwent season-ending surgery on Wednesday morning to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. Sabonis rehabbed the meniscus tear during the season and tried to play through the injury before having surgery now," Charania reported on Wednesday.

Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis underwent season-ending surgery on Wednesday morning to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. Sabonis rehabbed the meniscus tear during the season and tried to play through the injury before having surgery now. pic.twitter.com/1Y1g2eqg9L
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 18, 2026

Sabonis is out for the season

Sabonis was out for about two months with a partial meniscus tear, but he returned to action for eight games before the All-Star break. Now, he and the team have decided it is best for him to go ahead and have surgery to repair it rather than continue to play through it.

"It just makes it tough. You feel for Zach, you feel for Domas," Kings head coach Doug Christie said at practice on Wednesday.

The Kings will now be without two starters for the rest of the season. On one hand, it opens up opportunities for their younger guys to step into larger roles, but on the other hand, it is just brutal.

Sabonis will finish his 2025-26 campaign with playing just 19 of 82 games, and for what is potentially his last season in Sacramento, it was not the way anyone would have wanted the longest-tenured King to go out.

What's next for Sabonis and the Kings?

Jan 16, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Sabonis averaged just 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game this season, shooting 54.3% from the field and 18.5% from three-point range. Of course, it was a much smaller sample size than anyone would have hoped, and it was an all-around down year for the franchise, but this was not a great showing for Sabonis.

It is all but guaranteed that the Kings and Sabonis will look to part ways again this offseason, so it is very plausible that we have already seen the three-time All-Star put on a Kings uniform for the last time. It is a very similar situation to LaVine, who might have also already played his last game as a King.

After Sabonis was traded here during the 2021-22 season, and after he immediately made a huge impact by helping snap a 16-year playoff drought in 2022-23, he likely had much higher hopes for how his Kings tenure would go. Now, Sabonis is out for the year, and the Kings are ready to turn to rookie big man Maxime Raynaud to fill his spot as the future of the franchise's center position.