For the Sacramento Kings to be even remotely competitive this season, they need their star center, Domantas Sabonis, firing on all cylinders. In some ways, it's been a slow start for him, particularly when it comes to assists. But there are some signs he's starting to turn that around.
At this point in his career, Sabonis is known for being a double-double machine. He's been averaging at least a double-double since the 2019-2020 season, and has yet to have a game this season without a double-double. When you stop and think about that, it's exceedingly impressive.
What doesn't get talked about as much are his assists, particularly how they've been down this season. The 2024-2025 season saw him averaging 6.0 assists per game, low key making him one of the top big man playmakers in the league. This year has been much worse.
After missing the season opener with a hamstring strain, he returned for the second game. From an assists perspective, it was a bad scene. Sabonis averaged 2.3 assists per game in the first three games he played in the season. Fortunately, those numbers have picked up.
Sabonis starts dishing dimes
In the next three games, Sabonis averaged 5.7 assists per game, an increase over his first three outings of 3.4 assists per game. That's a huge jump. His overall average for the 2025-2026 season is now sitting at 4.0 assists per game, which is still well below previous seasons.
Just two seasons ago, Sabonis was sitting at 8.2 assists per game. That was on the tail end of the Beam Team era when he was still playing with De'Aaron Fox. While he's not back to the 6.0 assists he was getting last season, Domantas is getting closer and closer with every matchup.
These numbers do mean something. Sabonis is well behind where he usually is on scoring but is currently having his best rebounding season ever, which is saying a lot. Lower scoring and lower assists mean his game is not where it should be, and the Kings need him firing on all pistons.
An improvement in assists is a strong indicator that he is slowly getting back to fighting form. Sabonis is in his 10th season with the NBA, so his game is inevitably going to change with age. At the same time, he's only 29 and is in his prime years. It's not time for a slowdown, yet.