‘No question’: Why Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown says Domantas Sabonis is an All-Star
Kings center Domantas Sabonis is a 26-year-old two-time NBA All-Star who is making a strong case for a third appearance this season in Salt Lake City.
Sabonis has led the Kings (16-12) to their best start since the 2004-05 season as they prepare to open a six-game homestand against the Charlotte Hornets (7-22) on Monday at Golden 1 Center. Sabonis’ name is increasingly coming up in All-Star discussions as the tale of the Beam Team spreads throughout the league.
Sabonis, who ranks fifth in the NBA in win shares behind Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant, has been instrumental in Sacramento’s success. Kings coach Mike Brown is convinced Sabonis should be an All-Star.
“No question about it — zero question,” Brown said. “If you don’t vote for him to be an All-Star, in my opinion, you don’t know basketball because what he’s doing, it’s almost on a historic level, and I’m not just talking about his ability to score or his ability to pass.”
The Kings haven’t had an All-Star since DeMarcus Cousins in 2017. Sabonis, who was named an All-Star with the Indiana Pacers in 2020 and 2021, said he is more focused on winning games than individual accolades.
“I never really think about those things,” he said. “The most important, these things come when you win. In the past when it’s happened, it’s because we’ve won.
“You can be a 10th seed and it doesn’t matter. My goal is to help my team, and at the same time, if you’re helping your team win, good things will happen. We’ve got to keep — hopefully, our names keep staying in the conversations. That just means that we’re winning, and if we can stay as high as we can in the standings, that will be great for us.”
Sabonis had 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in a 122-113 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday at Little Caesars Arena, his seventh consecutive double-double and his league-leading 20th of the season. Sabonis became the third player in franchise history to post four consecutive 20-10-5 games, joining Oscar Robertson and Chris Webber.
“He’s doing everything,” Brown said. “He’s rebounding. He’s passing. He’s scoring. He’s creating mismatch problems for teams. Teams have to chase us a little bit when he’s on the floor, and that doesn’t show up in a box score if a team has to go back to certain guys just because Domas goes back on the floor.”
Sabonis is averaging 17.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his seventh season. He leads the NBA in total rebounds (326) and defensive rebounds (255). He is third in defensive rebounding percentage (.304) and seventh in total rebounding percentage (20.1).
Sabonis also ranks third in the NBA in offensive rating (133.2); fifth in win shares (4.6) and offensive win shares (3.4); sixth in win shares per 48 minutes (.240); ninth in value over replacement player (2.0); 13th in box plus/minus (6.5); and 17th in player efficiency rating (23.2).
“He is doing a fantastic job,” Brown said. “At one point, he was protecting the rim, I think, better than anybody, or he was for sure in the top three. And here’s a guy that everybody says, ‘Oh, he’s not that athletic. He’s not that long. He’s not a shot blocker.’ He’s smart. He’s strong. He knows how to use his body and go vertical. He does his work early. He communicates on the backside. He better be an All-Star.”
Five centers went to the NBA All-Star Game in 2022. Jokic, Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns were selected from the Western Conference. Joel Embiid and Jarrett Allen (chosen as a replacement for James Harden) were selected from the Eastern Conference.
This season, Sabonis ranks eighth among NBA centers in scoring, fourth in rebounding and second in assists. The only centers who rank ahead of Sabonis in scoring are Embiid, Davis, Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis, Julius Randle, Towns and Bam Adebayo. Only Davis, Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela rank ahead of Sabonis in rebounding, and only Jokic ranks ahead of him in assists.
Kings forward Harrison Barnes said Sabonis deserves to go to Salt Lake City.
“He should be an All-Star,” Barnes said. “You look at the West, you look at how we’re playing, you look at how productive he’s been. Talking about frontcourt players, I think it’s hard not to have him in that conversation.”
