Sabonis out with injury: Kings lose their star due to meniscus tear

Domantas Sabonis Suffers Meniscus Injury, Kings in Crisis

Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis has suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee and will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, the team announced on Thursday. Sabonis missed Wednesday night’s game against Oklahoma City due to discomfort in his left knee, suffered in the loss to the Spurs on Sunday. Subsequent tests revealed the tear, which will keep Sabonis out of action at least until the end of December and plunge the Kings into a spiral of negative results at the start of the season.

“I am not happy. I feel sorry for him, obviously,” said Kings coach Doug Christie on Thursday. “We need the big guy, but it’s the nature of what we do, and we know that when we sign up. It’s a shame. I want him and hope he recovers soon.”

Doug Christie, Kings Coach

Sabonis has been dealing with discomfort for much of the first month, missing the opening game after a hamstring strain in the preseason. He also missed two games earlier this month due to a rib issue. He will now miss at least the next 10 games due to a meniscus tear.

“The ability to play through him is huge because not many big men can make the kind of decisions that Domas makes,” Christie said. “The touch on the bounce passes… There are a lot of different things he brings. We play through Domas.”

Doug Christie, Kings Coach

The Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton for Sabonis in February 2022, a risky deal for a franchise trying to accelerate the rebuild in an effort to break a 16-year playoff drought. Sabonis contributed to this, propelling the Kings to third place in 2023 as a co-star alongside De’Aaron Fox in Mike Brown’s first season as coach. Sabonis has been a pillar of durability in Sacramento, playing in 79, 82, and 70 games in the last three seasons. But things fell apart quickly after that single playoff run. Brown was fired, Fox was traded, and now Sabonis is the highest-paid player — he has three years and $146.8 million left on his contract — on one of the most disappointing teams in basketball. The Kings (3-13) have lost eight consecutive games by double digits, the last a 137-96 loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday night.