Since the beginning of the season, Domantas Sabonis has been pushing the idea that the Sacramento Kings need to run their offense through him to win. At the same time, their first win of the season came when they weren't doing that. The Kings are better without him as their offensive focus.
Sabonis has been in the NBA since 2016, playing with the Thunder, the Pacers, and now the Kings. His Sacramento tenure is now in its fifth season. During that time, he's been named both an All-Star and an All-NBA team member, as well as being the league's top rebounder for three straight seasons.
All of that should make him a top player on any team. Heck, Sabonis is considered to be one of the top 20 big men in the league. There are two caveats to that. First, he's just not a great defender. It is what it is. Second, a team has to run their offense through Sabonis to make proper use of him.
The Catch-22 of Sabonis at center
These are the problems the Kings have run into. With Sabonis at center, their defensive profile has consistently withered. He's not the sole cause of that problem, but he is part of it. On offense, he's a double-double machine. The problem is it elevates him, not the rest of his teammates on the court.
That's the long way of saying that Sabonis finding individual success does not equal team success. Fans have watched that happen in the early going of this season. He has put up incredible numbers, including a big-time triple-double against the Blazers, but the Kings lost six in a row.
Sacramento finally got their first win against the Mavs. Sabonis still played 31 minutes, but it was the lowest number of minutes he's played this season. He also didn't get double digits in any stat category, the first time that's happened in 2026-2027. That's not a coincidence.
The Kings have to move on from Sabonis
To be clear, the only success Sacramento has found this season is when Sabonis' role has been minimized. He believes that the Kings are at their best when the offense is run through him. That has certainly not been the case. He has to accept a different role that doesn't have him as the focus.
In reality, he's not likely to do that. The Kings already know this and have been trying to trade Sabonis, but the rest of the league also knows the issues with him. Plus, he has two seasons left on a rather pricey contract. As such, trading the big man has not been going well, and everyone is frustrated.
Moving on from Sabonis doesn't have to mean trading him. All it has to be is limiting his use and keeping him on the bench more so he doesn't derail what is working. That will get easier once Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are back from their injuries and can take some of his minutes.
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