A Royal Pain
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Domantas Sabonis’ contract extension proves he is ride or die for the Sacramento Kings

By Parker Thomas

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 20: Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings stands for the national anthem before their game against the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Chase Center on April 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 20: Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings stands for the national anthem before their game against the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Chase Center on April 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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On Saturday, the Sacramento Kings and All-Star center Domantas Sabonis agreed to an uncommon agreement in the NBA – a contract renegotiation. This contract comes at a crucial time in the off-season for Sacramento, as they make critical decisions on who to bring back next season.

After an eventful few days that saw the Kings make a controversial decision to re-sign forward Harrison Barnes, make a trade for Pacers’ guard Chris Duarte, re-sign forward Trey Lyles, re-sign center Alex Len, and finally reach an agreement with EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov to bring him to the NBA after a six-year saga, the Sacramento Kings agreed to an extension to keep fan-favorite Domantas Sabonis with the Kings for five more years through the 2027-2028 NBA season.

The deal agreed upon uses up a large chunk of the Kings’ remaining cap space to pay Sabonis an additional $8.6 million next season (up from his previously set $22 million, including likely incentives). Sabonis will receive $30.6 million for the 2023-24 NBA season, according to ESPN.

Sabonis dominated for the Kings last season and was crucial to ending the Kings’ playoff drought. He averaged 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists while shooting over 61% from the field.

After next season, he will earn an average of $46.6 million in the following four years. While this is a large amount of money, stars are regularly being paid well over $50 million per season now, which proves one thing:

Domantas Sabonis is the ultimate team player for the Sacramento Kings

Sabonis reportedly did not take all the money available to him and emphasized the importance of the Kings building a strong roster with the money he did not take. This just shows how much Domas is for the team and how happy he is in Sacramento.

Sabonis previously said this when he was told his teammates called him selfless (via ESPN):

"“It’s not about me. It’s about the team, and I want what’s best for the team. This whole city goes nuts because the whole team won.”"

Sabonis is an anchor to the Kings, regularly putting his body on the line every single night. Someone willing to do anything for his team to win – even taking millions less than deserved – is the definition of an ultimate team player.

Sabonis is the kind of guy that every team would kill to have in their locker room. With Domas’ attitude, there’s no shock that Sacramento was able to create the highest offensive efficiency in NBA history last season.

Kings fans should be more than excited about this extension because Sacramento gets to keep a guy who will do anything for his team – and the city – at a fantastic price.

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