A Royal Pain
Fansided

3 Kings players who cemented their names in NBA history this season

ByMat Issa|
Apr 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Unless the Sacramento Kings go on a magical run during the NBA Play-In Tournament (something that we are not ready to rule out), the 2024-25 NBA Season will likely go down as a very unmemorable one for them.

However, just because the team as a whole failed to do anything spectacular does not mean that there weren't individual players who accomplished feats that will make them forever part of the story of this season. So, without further ado, here are three Kings players who cemented their names in the 2024-25 history books.

Domantas Sabonis

We'll start with an obvious one. The 2024-25 regular season was another monster counting stats season for the Kings' best player, Domantas Sabonis.

For starters, Sabonis was undeniable on the glass. Sabonis led the league in one of the three major counting measures: rebounds per game (13.9). He also led the league in Defensive Rebounds Per Game, Defensive Rebounds Per 36 Minutes, Defensive Rebounds Per 100 Possessions, Defensive Rebound Percentage, and Total Rebound Percentage.

Sabonis also lived up to his moniker as Mr. Double-Double. This season, Sabonis notched 61 double-doubles, making it the third straight year he's had over 60 of these types of games. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Sabonis is only the sixth player since the ABA-NBA merger to pull this off.

Keon Ellis

This year has been an up-and-down one for Keon Ellis. Ellis' minutes have been wildly inconsistent, so much so that he is ineligible for All-Defensive Team consideration. But when he is on the floor, Ellis has proven to be one of the best per-minute role players in the league.  

One of the reasons he is so valuable to the Kings is his ability to create plays on defense. On the season, Ellis is in the top five in total steals despite not having enough minutes to qualify for the Steals Per Game leaderboard.

DeMar DeRozan

This one is a bit of a stretch because the official voting for the award hasn't come out yet. However, early Tuesday morning, Kevin O'Connor tweeted out the official candidates for the Clutch Player of the Year award, and guess who made the cut:

Last year's Clutch Player of the Year runner-up, DeMar DeRozan, has a chance of taking home the trophy this time around. But the good news for DeRozan is that, even if he doesn't win it this year, his career is well-decorated enough that he will be remembered long after he decides to finally hang it up.

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