Domantas Sabonis in the NBA is a story of constant progress.
When the player was drafted, most of the talk about him was that he was the son of Arvydas Sabonis. Since then, less than 4 years have passed, and Domantas has already gone to the all-star Match, which his father never managed to do at the time.
Even at 39, Arvydas Sabonis made Zalgiris a contender for the title. His career was ended by a nightmare defeat to Maccabi
Sabonis spent his first season at Oklahoma, and was remembered by many there primarily for his poor defense and inability to hit three-pointers.
He started his second season at Indiana, where he was moved from the perimeter to the top five, for which his skill set on both sides was much better suited.
In his third year in the NBA, the 22-year-old center was already competing for the title of “best sixth player” and was second only to Lou Williams (playing against the reserves, Sabonis showed exorbitant efficiency).
For the fourth season, Sabonis was transferred to start. Thus Domantas as would returned on “four” (for in start already was miles Turner). But playing alongside Turner, Sabonis always remained a center, at least in the other half of the court. In addition, Domantas significantly increased engagement. In terms of 100 possessions or 36 minutes, the difference from the previous season is not so noticeable, but the total load has grown very much. Instead of 25 minutes against the reserves, Domantas plays 35 minutes against the base. And although its effectiveness has sunk somewhat, it is still significantly higher than the NBA average.
The result of this growth was an average of 18+12 per game and the same invitation to the all-star Game in Chicago. And, no matter how anyone treats the Eastern all-stars (especially the reserve ones), it is now more or less obvious that Sabonis is clearly more than a role player. And this is very useful, because the article, among other things, that the role of a so-so.
Sabonis has a great vision for partners
Many regret that Prime Arvydas Sabonis did not play in the NBA. People are interested in how his playmaking qualities would look on maximals. And in this regard, the heir to Sabas is usually called Jokic-the point center of “Denver”. If you want to know how Arvydas would look in the NBA, look at Nikola. But Sabas has a son who plays in the NBA and sees partners at a posh level.
Domantosovskie “18+12” – this is, in fact, 18+12+5. Sabonis has 5 assists per game this season. Do you know how many people with the height of Domantas or higher obeyed such figures? Nine. In addition to Sabonis, they are Garnett, Adetokumbo, Divac, Walton, Chamberlain, Jokic, Abdul-Jabbar and Noah. The elite list. And if you take as a filter sabonisovskie 7 passes per 100 possessions, then Karim and wilt, who played at the highest pace, fall off this list (added Marc Gasol and rich Kelly, the mustachioed center of the “suns” of the early 80’s).