Have The Kings Peaked With Sabonis As Their Best Player?

Regarding Sabonis, Bailey had praise for his game. “He is, every single year, an All-Star caliber guy who puts up crazy numbers…always near the league lead in rebounds and triple-doubles,” he said. “But,” Bailey continued, “I think you may have already seen the ceiling of a Kings team led by Sabonis.” It is a blunt assessment, but it’s also one I find myself nodding along with.

Sabonis has been nothing short of brilliant statistically since arriving in Sacramento. He racks up double-doubles with ease, serves as one of the league’s best passing big men, and is often the Kings’ offensive hub. On paper, that should scream “franchise cornerstone.” In practice, Sacramento still hasn’t broken through in a meaningful way with him at the helm.

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In my view, the reason is simple: Sabonis isn’t a “Batman.” He may be a tremendous “Robin”, but we won’t be able to test that theory until we have a bonafide superstar to play the role of Batman. Sabonis appears to be the type of player who can thrive next to a true top option, but expecting him to be the engine of a championship contender may be asking too much.

Part of this is about playoff pedigree. Sabonis has been in the league since 2016, but his postseason résumé is light, especially as a starter. Despite making the playoffs in his first three seasons (one with Oklahoma City and two with Indiana), the 29 year-old center is entering his tenth NBA season and has started a grand total of seven career playoff games: the tough, seven-game series the Kings had against the Golden State Warriors in 2023. 

In that series, Sabonis’ limitations were put on full display. He struggled with Golden State’s physicality, the limited spacing available on offense, and creating shots when defenses tightened. His averages of 16 points and 11 rebounds were solid, although short of his typical production. Sabonis also averaged 3.7 turnovers per game in the series, which speaks to how much his game was disrupted on the biggest stage.

It was a reminder that in the crucible of the postseason, the game slows down, matchups are exploited, and the difference between very good players and great players is often revealed. And to be clear, Sabonis is a very good player. He’s a phenomenal rebounder, a gifted passer, and a focal point of the offense who gives Sacramento a unique look. 

However, his greatness doesn’t necessarily translate into wins when the stakes rise. He doesn’t appear to have that extra gear where he takes over a game, carries his team on his back, and forces a series to turn in his favor. That is perhaps the biggest difference between being a star and being the star.

There is also the question of whether his numerical output lifts his teammates. Elite-level superstars such as Nikola Jokić or LeBron James elevate everyone around them. Sabonis’ numbers are gaudy, but the on-court impact hasn’t consistently elevated his teammates nor lifted Sacramento into the league’s upper echelon.

Despite the magical run of the original Beam Team in 2022-2023, the Kings have hovered in the lower-middle of the West for the last two seasons, and appear to be trending downward.

If Sabonis is better suited as a second option, then the Kings need to ask themselves some tough questions. Is it worth at least testing the market to see what kind of return Sabonis could fetch? Bailey suggested, “If you can get some team to give up a bunch of picks and maybe some young talent for Sabonis, and then you say we’re really going to lean into Keegan Murray and Nique Cifford and all these guys, I think you’d have to think about doing that.”

There is a bit of hyperbole in Bailey’s assessment, as all indications are that Sacramento did in fact go around the league to get a sense of Sabonis’ value earlier this summer, and there were no reports of teams willing to part with anything resembling that kind of package to acquire his services. 

It’s not an easy conversation to have, especially for a fan base that has embraced Sabonis and loved the turnaround he helped spark. But the Kings’ front office is not content with being fun and competitive; the standard now is contention. If Sabonis can’t be the guy to get them there, it may be time to think long and hard about what comes next.