Former Gonzaga star Domantas Sabonis leads NBA in triple-doubles
Domantas Sabonis once again etched his name into the NBA record books on Monday against the Miami Heat.
The former Gonzaga standout became the 10th player in NBA history to record 40 consecutive double-doubles in a single season after he finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the Sacramento Kings' 121-110 loss to the Heat. Per Sportradar, Sabonis is just the second player since 1982 to accomplish the feat and the first since Kevin Love recorded 53-straight double-doubles in the 2010-11 campaign.
Monday's game also featured Sabonis' NBA-best 21st triple-double of the season, making him just the sixth player in league history to have 20 or more triple-doubles in a season. Eight of Sabonis' triple-doubles have come in his last 10 games.
Over his last 15 games, Sabonis is averaging 20.1 points, 14.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists while shooting 65% from the field. The 6-foot-11 Lithuanian leads the association in rebounds per game (13.2) and is fifth in assists per game (8.5) while putting up 20.0 points in 57 outings this season.
Sabonis' ascension as one of the league's best and most versatile big men over the last three seasons has helped reinvent the Sacramento Kings franchise. Sacramento broke through to the postseason for the first time since 2006 last season after an All-NBA campaign from Sabonis, who also finished in the top 10 in NBA MVP voting.
“I think people kind of become numb to what he’s doing,” Sacramento point guard De'Aaron Fox said of Sabonis after their win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. “Averaging close to a triple-double, that’s a tough thing to do.”
Sabonis was inexplicably left off the NBA All-Star team amid a historic season. Sabonis and Fox have led the Kings to a 33-24 record, which is slightly ahead of where they were last season when they finished third in the Western Conference and ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history. They currently sit in seventh place in a stacked Western Conference with 25 games to play.
The Sabonis-Fox tandem will determine how far the Kings will go in the playoffs this season. Until then, expect Sabonis to rewrite the record books a few more times.
