Kings’ Sabonis Ranked as a Top No.2 Option in the NBA

The Sacramento Kings star center ranks as a top ten sidekick in the NBA.

Oct 27, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) dribbles the ball up the court against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have one of the best tandems in the NBA with De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but who is the top dog?

Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo! Sports named Fox as Sacramento's go-to guy, ranking him the 20th-best number-one option in the NBA. But if Sabonis is the number two option, where does he fall among the league's best?

Rohrbach ranked Sabonis as the league's sixth-best number two option, with the complete top ten below:

1. Anthony Davis, LAL

2. Devin Booker, PHO

3. Jaylen Brown, BOS

4. Bam Adebayo, MIA

5. Jamal Murray, DEN

6. Domantas Sabonis, SAC

7. Kyrie Irving, DAL

8. Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN

9. Pascal Siakam, IND

10. Damian Lillard, MIL

This top ten ranking is certainly interesting, with Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray being ranked fifth as a clear outlier. Sure, Murray has come up clutch in the playoffs, but is he better than Sabonis or any other player below them?

Murray is a great player and the ideal complement to superstar center Nikola Jokic, but with zero All-Star appearances, no standout seasons (excluding playoff runs), and recent injury history, there is no clear reason to put him above three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.

Sabonis is debatably the number one option in Sacramento, but Rohrbach made the right call by giving the title to Fox.

Fox and Sabonis play alongside each other at an elite level, but Fox has taken his game to another degree as he developed a three-point shot and improved his defense.

Sabonis had a wildly impressive 2023-24 season, averaging 19.4 points, 8.2 assists, and a league-high 13.7 rebounds per game. Sabonis also led the league in double-doubles (77) and triple-doubles (26), while breaking the NBA record for most consecutive double-doubles (61).

While Sabonis consistently stuffed the stat sheet last season, his lack of postseason success could be a reason to knock him down the list, and the same for Fox among the league's best number-one options.

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