We are perhaps at the beginning of a great story on the Sacramento side, where the Fox-Sabonis tandem welcomed DeMar DeRozana third element of choice this summer to form a prestigious “Big Three”.
Domantas Sabonis had already spoken about the qualities that DeMar DeRozan will bring to the Kings. A month later, the bond has visibly strengthened with the former Raptors and Bulls player, who was present at the launch party of the docuseries “Starting Five”, which followed the daily lives of five NBA players, including Domantas Sabonis.
The opportunity for the Lithuanian pivot to once again praise Sacramento's main recruit during the offseason, whom he sees as a valuable reinforcement on the field, but not only that.
“A different mentality”
“I think it’s something big. We haven't had a veteran who has a Hall of Fame career like him, or his basketball IQ. I spent a few weeks with him in Los Angeles training, and I've already learned so much in just a short time with him. The most important thing, apart from what everyone knows he will bring, is the appearance off the pitch, and in the locker room., he confided. “He’s going to bring a different mentality to this group. He's not here to laugh. He's there for the right reason. He wants to win. For us, I feel like our biggest problem last season was focusing on all the games that were rumored to be the big team playing the low seeded team. This is what ended up putting us in a difficult position. I think he will bring that veteran presence that we need.”
The objective of the season is simple for the hard core of the Kings, to continue to progress while integrating DeMar DeRozan to find the top 4. Then, everything will be possible again.
“The Kings have high expectations. We already had them last year after our previous year (3rd in the Western Conference, elimination against the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs). Now, with DeMar, they're going to expect us to go even further.”he added. “Everyone knows what Fox can do. He was the most clutch player of the year. As soon as we need a basket, he manages to go get it. We all know DeMar. He's been in the league a long time and is respected. Opposing teams are going to have to put their best defender on one of these two guys, and the other will be freer. It will put us in a good position (…) We want to get to the end of the season, make sure we are in the playoffs, and then have the same mentality by continuing to move forward.“.
| Domantas Sabonis | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | OKC | 81 | 20 | 39.9 | 32.1 | 65.7 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 5.9 |
| 2017-18 | IND | 74 | 25 | 51.4 | 35.1 | 75.0 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| 2018-19 | IND | 74 | 25 | 59.0 | 52.9 | 71.5 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 9.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 14.1 |
| 2019-20 | IND | 62 | 35 | 54.0 | 25.4 | 72.3 | 3.1 | 9.4 | 12.4 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 18.5 |
| 2020-21 | IND | 62 | 36 | 53.5 | 32.1 | 73.2 | 2.4 | 9.6 | 12.0 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 20.3 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 62 | 35 | 57.3 | 31.2 | 74.1 | 3.2 | 8.9 | 12.1 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 18.9 |
| 2021-22 * | IND | 47 | 35 | 58.0 | 32.4 | 74.0 | 3.3 | 8.8 | 12.1 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 18.9 |
| 2021-22 * | BAG | 15 | 34 | 55.4 | 23.5 | 74.3 | 3.1 | 9.3 | 12.3 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 18.9 |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 79 | 35 | 61.5 | 37.3 | 74.2 | 3.2 | 9.1 | 12.3 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 19.1 |
| 2023-24 | BAG | 82 | 36 | 59.4 | 37.9 | 70.4 | 3.6 | 10.1 | 13.7 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 19.4 |
| Total | 576 | 30 | 55.6 | 33.2 | 72.6 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 15.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
