The Sacramento Kings may have lost to the Washington Wizards on Thursday, but the team had a silver lining in the form of Domantas Sabonis. Talks surrounding the big man's continuous streak of double-doubles have surfaced recently, and they'll likely continue following Thursday's outing. Why? Well, as of the final buzzer, Sabonis now surpasses Moses Malone to hold the second-longest double-double streak since the NBA-ABA merger, per Sactown Sports 1140's Frankie Cartoscelli. He had 14 points and 14 rebounds on Thursday.
Sabonis is now one game shy of Kevin Love's 53 consecutive in the 2010-11 season and he now holds the 14th-longest streak in NBA history (including pre ABA-NBA merger).
This season, the three-time All-Star continues his stellar play for the Kings. Averaging 20.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, Sabonis co-leads the Sac-Town squad alongside star guard De'Aaron Fox.
Domantas Sabonis through the years
Entering the NBA as the 11th overall pick in 2016, the former Gonzaga Bulldog had a name to live up to, being the son of none other than Arvydas Sabonis himself. After a quiet rookie year in Oklahoma, Domantas Sabonis was traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he would eventually find his footing. He played an important bench role at first, becoming one of the league's top sixth-men during the 2018-19 season.
It was during Indiana's 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns that Sabonis would fully develop into an All-Star. In that two-season span, Sabonis made both AS games, averaging 19.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game (both years combined). The Lithuanian-American center was traded in 2022 to the Kings following the Pacers' decision to head into a rebuild. Playing in a new team would not affect his game, as Sabonis continued his double-double average to garner his third All-Star appearance in the 2022-23 season.
In this day and age, where plenty glorify fancy handles, step-back threes and jelly layups, Sabonis plays a fundamentally sound game. From low-post footwork, an ability to pass the ball and a tendency to get physical down in the paint, the big man has an old-school flair on the court. Regardless of how he's overlooked from the highlights, Sabonis is one of the reasons why the Kings are still gunning for a play-in spot right now.
What the Kings can improve on moving forward
As for the team itself, Sacramento is eighth in the West with a 40-29 record. Offensively, they're doing fine. The Kings score an average of 117.9 points per game (8th overall) and make 14.2 threes per game (5th). In addition, their 44.0 made field goals per game (3rd) is one of the highest in the league.
The other side of the ball could use more work though. Defensively, the Kings' 116.5 opponent points allowed per game ranks in the bottom half of the league (18th). While their paint defense barely allows second-chance points, Sac-Town gives up 13.1 three-pointers per game (17th).
Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings have shown that they can compete in the playoffs, as seen in last year's seven-game series against the Golden State Warriors. With some tweaks defensively, the team can still elevate their play as the postseason draws near.
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