Domantas Sabonis is a bad man. Not only is he one of the Sacramento Kings' best players. He is also one of the best players in basketball.
As one of the best players in basketball, it makes sense that Sabonis would lead the league in some categories. But his play style, one that consists of a lot of banging and bruising, suggests that he would lead the league in rebounds or double-doubles (coincidentally, he leads the NBA in both). However, I don't think anyone, even the most optimistic Sabonis fan, would have expected this.
Sabonis leads the NBA in 3-point shooting
As of writing this, Sabonis is leading the league in 3-point percentage (48.4%) – among players who have attempted at least 75 threes this season. He is 1.3% better than the next-best shooter this year, Sabonis' low post rival: Nikola Jokic.
the Sacramento Kings have two of the top-8 three-point shooters in the league:
— J r u e (@thatl0calguy) January 20, 2025
Domantas Sabonis and Keon Ellis.
just like we all predicted 💯 pic.twitter.com/0UvyS0XxE4
As you can see from the tweet above, Sabonis isn't the only Kings player who is having a great year from downtown. Keon Ellis is currently eighth in the NBA in 3-point shooting (44.6%). The Kings may only be 21st in 3-point percentage, but it isn't because of these two players.
As I wrote earlier this year, despite his success to start the season, I don't see Sabonis as a true floor spacer at the five spot. Yes, Sabonis is hitting his threes when he's taking them. But the key word here is "when."
When it comes to spacing, shooting volume is more important than shooting efficiency. And while Sabonis is in the 99th percentile in 3-point efficiency, he is only in the 13th percentile in shooting volume. Teams are willing to live with Sabonis shooting nearly 50% from three because he isn't taking those shots often enough to burn them.
As I mentioned in the aforementioned article I cited, the reason Sabonis doesn't take a ton of threes is because he has a slower release. That makes it hard for him to get a shot he likes off because, even when he is open after catching the pass, he takes so long to get the ball out of his hands that it gives defenses a chance to closeout on him.
Still, even if he isn't a true floor spacer, Sabonis' bump in 3-point percentage makes him an even more lethal offensive player than he already was.