NBA All-Stars Domantas Sabonis, Luka Doncic clash in Lithuania-Slovenia game at EuroBasket
Kings fans enjoyed seeing Domantas Sabonis and some of his Sacramento teammates during FIBA World Cup qualifiers over the past couple of weeks. They’ll get to see more of Sabonis and fellow Kings big man man Alex Len over the next couple of weeks at EuroBasket 2022.
Sabonis will lead Lithuania into Thursday’s first-round Group B game in a marquee matchup against reigning champion Slovenia, which features Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. Lithuania will also face France on Saturday, Germany on Sunday, Hungary on Tuesday, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sept. 7.
Len will lead Ukraine into Group C play against Great Britain on Friday. Ukraine will then go up against Estonia on Saturday, Italy on Monday, Greece on Tuesday and Croatia on Sept. 8.
EuroBasket is typically held every four years, but this time the tournament was delayed a year after the 2020 Olympics were moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament features the 24 best teams from Europe, all vying for European basketball’s biggest prize.
Four groups of six will compete beginning Thursday in the Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany and Italy. The top four teams in each group will move on to the knockout round of 16 with the goal of reaching the championship game Sept. 18 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.
Doncic and Goran Dragic will lead defending champion Slovenia. Another top team is Serbia with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Boban Marjanovic and Nemanja Bjelica, although Bogdan Bogdanovic will not play after undergoing right knee surgery. Other top contenders include France with Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum; Greece with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo; and Lithuania with Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas.
Sabonis and Len recently represented their countries in FIBA World Cup qualifiers along with Kings teammates Chimezie Metu (Nigeria) and Neemias Queta (Portugal). Sabonis averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in victories over Hungary and Montenegro. Len averaged 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in losses to Italy and Iceland.
Sabonis, 26, is a two-time NBA All-Star who is entering his second season with the Kings after being acquired in the February trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 18.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 15 games for Sacramento last season, establishing himself as a pillar in general manager Monte McNair’s rebuild along with point guard De’Aaron Fox.
Len, 29, is going into the second season of his second stint with the Kings. The 7-foot center came to the Kings at the end of the 2019-20 season after being acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks. He spent the 2020-21 season with the Washington Wizards but returned to Sacramento after signing as a free agent last season, appearing in 39 games while averaging 6.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.9 minutes per game.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
