What We Learned in Sabonis' Return, Kings Victory Over Wizards

The Sacramento Kings win their fourth straight game with a 128-115 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Jan 16, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) warms up before the game against the Washington Wizards at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings continued their strong stretch of basketball with their fourth straight win, this time a 128-115 victory over the Washington Wizards. It wasn't a pretty game from start to finish for the Kings, but they did more than enough to cruise to one of their easier wins in the season.

While the Kings winning a surprising fourth game in a row is great and something no one saw coming, the biggest storyline of the night was the return of All-Star center Domantas Sabonis. Much like with other Kings who have returned from injury this season, his first game back was off the bench, but we saw an extremely efficient night for the big man in his return.

He finished with a modest 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, but chipped in a steal and a block and put up those numbers in just 21:14 minutes of action. Throw in his 5-of-6 from the field, and it's exactly what you'd expect from him on any given night.

The offense as a whole was clicking tonight, with all ten players scoring, getting at least one assist, and even everyone grabbing a board. Sabonis will get the headlines, and Russell Westbrook the attention for his game-high 26, but it was a team affair tonight against the Wizards. Nothing shows that more than the Kings 36 assists, a number that will likely make Doug Christie smile brighter than The Beam tonight.

Rotation Answers?

Jan 16, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) and Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) tip off during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The biggest takeaway from tonight is the rotations now that all of the veteran players are healthy. Keegan Murray is still out with injury, and Keon Ellis missed the contest with left knee soreness, but this feels like the healthiest the Kings have been all season.

In the front court, Maxime Raynaud got the start as Sabonis worked his way back from injury, and Dylan Cardwell continued to get a solid chunk of minutes with 18:40 off the bench. Sabonis will certainly see his minutes increase, but it looks like the three bigs will all be in the rotation going forward (depending on Cardwell's two-way contract situation).

The good sign tonight was Sabonis and Cardwell sharing the floor together. The Kings haven't had a rim protector to put next to Sabonis since he arrived in Sacramento, and Cardwell definitely fits that bill. And his ability to play in the dunker's spot opens up some options for him on offense, rather than him having to run the pick and roll.

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It shows that the idea of Sabonis playing with either Raynaud or Cardwell could work. Not so much for this season, as even with the four straight wins, the Kings are likely out of the playoff picture. But for the future. This is the perfect opportunity to see what the Kings have for possible rotations, as the wins and losses don't matter.

Not Getting Pushed Around

As mentioned above, it wasn't smooth sailing for 48 minutes in Sacramento. The Wizards made it a game in the second quarter and start of the third, but the Kings did something we've seen more lately as the wins have stacked up. They pushed back.

DeMar DeRozan and Kyshawn George getting into it after going for a rebound punctuated it, but the Wizards were using their speed and physicality to claw their way back in the game.

kyshawn george and demar derozan have to be separated 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Qfzzx6I65a

— Dylan Cardwell Muse (@dcardwellmuse) January 17, 2026

But the Kings showed why they are the veteran team and put their feet on the gas to get a comfortable lead back. Even with the poor record, it's a great sign for what the Kings are trying to build.

This year is all about creating a culture and identity, and getting punked by a young Wizards team would have been hard to stomach. This is the exact type of game that screams Doug Christie, and another step in the right direction for Sacramento.