Long before he turned out to be a Sacramento Kings basketball hero, Domantas Sabonis had his doubts about whether the team's fans would receive him well. He thought that he would get booed out of the building once he makes his home debut for Sacramento after getting traded to the Kings by the Indiana Pacers along with Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a pick for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson back in February 2022.
“Oh my god, we are gonna get booed!” Domantas Sabonis thought during the time of the trade, per ESPN's Zach Lowe.
Instead, Domantas Sabonis was welcomed like family by Kings fans.
“I got a standing ovation — screaming, cheering,” Sabonis recalls. “I had goosebumps.”
The trade turned out to be a major boost for the Kings franchise, which is now on the verge of making its first appearance in the playoffs since the 2005-06 season. The Kings have already guaranteed themselves a non-losing record, while still very much in the running to actually win the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Domantas Sabonis is undeniably a huge season why the Kings are having a resurgence. So far in the 2022-23 NBA campaign, the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star is averaging 19.1 points on 60.9 percent shooting from the field, 12.5 rebounds, and 7.23 assists per game. His ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates has resulted in the Kings being the highest-scoring team this season.
Together with De'Aaron Fox, Sabonis has the opportunity to add to his legend in Sacramento by not only leading the Kings to the postseason but to making a deep run in the playoffs.
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