The addition of Domantas Sabonis has taken the Sacramento Kings up a level in the 2022-23 campaign. Acquired for a package centered around Tyrese Haliburton, many thought that the Kings had overpaid for the offensively-gifted center. But no longer. Sabonis was at the middle of the Kings' winning efforts once again on Friday night when they took on the Houston Rockets.
Domantas Sabonis had his way with the Rockets' defense all night long as he dropped 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists (a new career-best) to lead the way for the Kings en route to a 139-114 victory. And in doing so, Sabonis, despite not being a member of the Kings franchise for even a year, has etched his name even deeper into Kings lore.
The Lithuanian center became the first player in Kings franchise history since Oscar Robertson to tally a 15-15-15 game, per ESPN Stats & Info. The Big O accomplished the feat all the way back on January 8, 1965 – 68 years and five days to this day.
During that fateful game, Oscar Robertson dropped 26 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists to lead the then-Cincinnati Royals to a 114-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. And just to add a tiny nugget of history, Robertson proceeded to one-up himself in his next game, as he tallied 42 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, just an incredible display of the Big O's historic stat-sheet stuffing ways.
Other than Nikola Jokic, one would be hard-pressed to point out a center who could fill the stat-sheet much like Domantas Sabonis. And Sabonis isn't just putting up empty stats. The Kings (yes, the Kings) are currently the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 23-18 record. And with Sabonis putting up incredible stats nightly, there's no reason to expect the Kings to taper off.
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