Domantas Sabonis first Gonzaga player to earn All-NBA honors since John Stockton

It's the first All-NBA honor for the former Zag and current Sacramento Kings star

Former Gonzaga men’s basketball standout Domantas Sabonis made history on Wednesday when he took home his first All-NBA third-team honor.

Sabonis, who helped the Sacramento Kings snap their 16-year playoff drought this season, is the first former Zag to garner All-NBA honors since hall-of-famer John Stockton accomplished the feat in 1999 with the Utah Jazz. No other players in program history have been named to the NBA’s prestigious list.

The All-NBA first team featured Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, league MVP Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic.

The second team included Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Jaylen Brown.

Receiving 147 total votes, Sabonis joined Kings teammate De’Aaron Fox on the third team, along with Damian Lillard, Julius Randle and LeBron James. It’s the first time in Kings’ franchise history that a pair of teammates earned All-NBA honors since Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas were selected to the first team in 1968.

Domantas Sabonis and Sacramento Kings teammate De'Aaron Fox / Photo by Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

Each All-NBA team, as well as the end-of-season awards, are voted on by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Each voter chooses two guards, two forwards and one center for the first, second and third teams. Players receive five points for first-team votes, three points for second-team votes and one point for third-team votes.

In his eighth season as a pro, Sabonis entered the MVP conversation after he averaged 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game while leading the league in rebounds and double-doubles. His versatility as a 6-foot-11 point-forward was instrumental in the Kings winning 48 games and securing the Pacific Division title, as he posted the second-most win shares in the league with 12.6.

The historic season ended in a first-round playoff loss to the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.

Sabonis’ first playoff series with the Kings wasn’t as productive as the regular season, though the 26-year-old still put up 16.4 points on 49.5% shooting, 11.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game in a competitive seven-game series.

Chosen with the 11th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Sabonis developed into an All-Star caliber center with the Indiana Pacers after being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017 offseason. He earned two All-Star selections and helped guide the Pacers to three playoff appearances in four seasons, though injuries nagged him for the latter part of his tenure. After signing a four-year, $74.9 million contract at 24 years old, Sabonis was dealt to the Kings in February 2022.

As a Zag, Sabonis was viewed as the country’s top mid-major prospect by the end of his sophomore season in which he averaged 17.6 points and a WCC-best 11.8 rebounds per game. He earned NCAA Tournament All-Region honors in 2015 after leading Gonzaga to the first of the program’s eight consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

Domantas Sabonis and Gonzaga teammates Silas Melson, Kyle Wiltjer and Kyle Dranginis at the 2016 NCAA Tournament / Photo by Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Sports