Domantas Sabonis is heading into a season that could shape both his value and his future in Sacramento.
ESPN’s 2026 NBA top-100 list dropped him 24 spots to No. 58, a slide that comes after a lost stretch in which Sabonis had season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee on Feb. 18. He finished the year with a career-low 19 games, and the Kings felt every bit of his absence.
That’s because Sabonis is the engine of Sacramento’s offense. The Kings run so much through him, using his playmaking to spark dribble handoffs and create short-roll chances for teammates.
He also brings a huge nightly advantage on the glass. Sabonis has averaged 10 rebounds per game in his career, including seven straight seasons above 11 boards and a career-best 13.9 last season.
Now healthy, the three-time All-Star gives Sacramento a very different starting point than the one it faced without him. Still, outside expectations for the Kings are sitting low.
ESPN projected them to go 19-63, which would be three fewer wins than last season. That number feels harsh for a roster that went 46-36 in 2023-24, even with injuries hammering the group.
There’s also a strange wrinkle to Sabonis’ season: he can help the Kings win games, but he can also help improve their draft position. Under the new lottery reform, teams with the fourth- through 10th-worst records get better lottery odds and a shot at a top-four pick or even No. 1 overall.
At the same time, his long-term place in Sacramento looks shaky. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported the Kings have no interest in extending Sabonis, and he is owed more than $90 million over the next two seasons. The team has also not found trade interest strong enough to move the Lithuanian center.
General manager Scott Perry appears to have his eyes on a different direction, with Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren emerging as an “all-in” target for next offseason. If Sacramento goes after Duren, Sabonis would be the odd man out, whether that means a trade to Detroit or somewhere else.
Duren would also have to make a major decision of his own. He would need to risk next season on the $9.6 million qualifying offer, which gives him a de facto no-trade clause and sets him up to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
If the Kings could land Duren, it would give them a young core they haven’t had since breaking up Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.
For now, though, the story starts with Sabonis. A healthy version of him would be exactly what Sacramento missed last season. But even with that boost, the sense around this situation is that the split may already be coming.
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