Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis is nearing a return after being sidelined by a knee injury for the past two months.
Sabonis was a full participant in Thursday’s practice and there was optimism he could return to competition when the Kings play host to the Washington Wizards on Friday at Golden 1 Center, sources told KCRA’s Sean Cunningham.
The Kings (11-30) are riding their first three-game winning streak of the season after beating the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. They will face the Wizards in the fourth game of a season-long seven-game homestand.
Sabonis has missed the past 27 games with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. He has not played since suffering the injury in a Nov. 16 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Sabonis, 29, is a two-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA Third Team selection. He has appeared in 11 games this season, averaging 17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 21% from the field and 20% from 3-point range.
Rookie second-round draft pick Maxime Raynaud has been starting in place of Sabonis. Raynaud has played well, averaging 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He is shooting 56.3% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc.
The Kings have also gotten a spark from two-way center Dylan Cardwell. The undrafted rookie has appeared in 14 games, averaging 4.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 17.9 minutes per game.