MRI results reveal severity of knee injury for Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis
A magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed good news regarding the extent of the injury Kings center Domantas Sabonis sustained in Sunday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Multiple medical professionals diagnosed the two-time All-Star with a bone bruise in his left knee after an MRI showed no structural damage, the Kings said. He will be reevaluated in 10 days.
Sabonis’ absence will prevent him from building on-court chemistry with point guard De’Aaron Fox as the Kings shift their focus to the 2022-23 season, but the team can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he avoided serious injury.
Sabonis will not travel with the team Tuesday and will likely miss the entirety of the team’s upcoming five-game road trip, including Wednesday’s game against his former team, the Indiana Pacers. The Kings will have only four games remaining when they return from the trip, leaving open the possibility Sabonis could miss the rest of the season.
Sabonis suffered the injury with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 127-124 overtime loss to the Suns at Golden 1 Center. Sabonis was trying to prevent Suns forward Mikal Bridges from driving to the basket when their knees collided, sending Sabonis sprawling to the floor under the basket in obvious pain.
Coaches, teammates and trainers rushed to Sabonis’ side to check on the 6-foot-11 center. Sabonis was helped to his feet and remained in the game for 28 seconds, but he left the floor at the next clock stoppage and did not return.
“You never want to see an injury,” teammate Damian Jones said. “And when I saw Domas get hit, it looked like knee-to-knee action. I was like, dang, because that stuff really hurts. I was just hoping for the best. … Seeing him get up and stuff was good to see.”
Sabonis finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes against the Suns. He was coming off of his biggest game of the season in Friday’s loss to the Boston Celtics after becoming the first Kings player to have 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game since DeMarcus Cousins on Nov. 28, 2016.
The Kings acquired Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb in the deal that sent Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers ahead of the February trade deadline. Sabonis has averaged 18.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 15 games for Sacramento.
Making the playoffs is no longer realistic with the Kings sitting six games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the Western Conference’s final play-in spot with nine games remaining. The team hoped to build more familiarity between Fox and Sabonis in the final weeks of the season, but Fox has missed the past two games with right hand soreness and now Sabonis will be sidelined as well.
The Kings will rely on Damian Jones, Alex Len and possibly rookie Neemias Queta at the center position with Sabonis out due to injury and backup Richaun Holmes out for the season for personal reasons. Jones has appeared in 47 games this season, averaging 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds. Len has averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 35 games. Queta has appeared in only 10 games for Sacramento, but he has averaged 17.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 16 games for the G-League Stockton Kings.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 5:16 PM.
