Being the team's star makes Domantas Sabonis a lightning rod for criticism. While a lot of it is wildly inaccurate, there is one stat that is telling, and that's assists. He is well under where he usually is for the Sacramento Kings, and it's definitely causing them problems on the court.
It's almost impossible to talk about Sabonis without bringing up the fact that he's a double-double machine. Including 2025-2026, his average has been a double-double for seven straight seasons. That goes all the way back to 2019-2020 with the Indiana Pacers.
Since he's been averaging a double-double since 2019, it can be easy to forget how impressive that actually is. His lifetime average to date is 16.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. That's not an easy achievement. It requires reliable shooting as well as hustling after every ball that comes off the glass.
Where Sabonis is lacking
As it stands right now, Sabonis is still averaging his standard double-double, but he's not shooting where he should be. Since 2019-2020, he's averaged between 18.5 and 20.3 points per game each season. Right now, he's at 12.5 points per game, which is a decline in consistent production.
Keep in mind that he is still recovering from a hamstring strain that kept him out of the season opener and that could be impacting his shot. He'll get rolling more consistently soon enough. The bigger concern is his drop in assists, something that has flown somewhat under the radar.
Sabonis is currently averaging 3.3 assists per game in 2025-2026, the lowest that number has been since the 2018-2019 season. It's almost three assists less per game than last season and basically five assists per game less than his peak in 2023-2024 at 8.2. That's a big deal.
Sabonis makes plays for the Kings
Everyone focuses on the double-doubles but Sabonis is low-key one of the best big man playmakers in the league. The fact that he'd collecting such a low number of assists per game is concerning because it means that he isn't facilitating on offense the way he used to.
It's not just Sabonis. The entire team is having issues, dropping from 13th in the league in assists per game last season to 19th so far this season. That's indicative of bad ball movement as well as shooting issues. You can't get assists without scoring, and the Kings are 26th in points per game.
Yes, Domantas Sabonis needs to get his scoring average up and definitely needs to get his assist average up for the Kings to even be competitive. But these are issues the whole team needs to work on, and are key indicators of much bigger problems.