The Sacramento Kings have fallen to 35-35 on the season after losing six of their last eight games, but with just 12 games left, things are looking up.
The Kings have a tall task ahead of them against the Boston Celtics on Monday night, but they could not have received better news before the big matchup. After missing five consecutive games and nine of their last 11, star center Domantas Sabonis is officially returning to Sacramento's lineup.
The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis will return from his ankle injury tonight against Boston, I’m told. It has only been one week since his ankle injury that was expected to keep him out much longer.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) March 24, 2025
Sabonis suffered an ankle sprain on March 17 in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Kings are just 1-2 in the three games he has missed since. Sabonis has had an unlucky month, suffering a hamstring strain on March 1 that sidelined him for six games before coming back to sprain his ankle, but his health becomes a huge factor as the regular season winds down.
Sabonis is averaging 19.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game this season with impressive 59.3/42.5/74.8 shooting splits. The Kings are just 4-8 when Sabonis is sidelined this season, and the All-Star big man seems to have sped up his recovery process to get back on the court.
Not only is Domantas Sabonis coming back really early by "moderate ankle sprain" standards, he's also coming back before the initial announced timeline the Kings put out.
I don't need to ask to know Sabonis is the driving force behind it. He's a tough competitor. But this makes…
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 24, 2025
On March 18, the Kings announced that Sabonis would be re-evaluated in ten days, but now the star big man is set to return after just six. Sabonis recovered from an ankle sprain in less than a week, and on Monday night against the NBA defending champions, we will see how healthy he is looking.
The Kings and Celtics face off at 7 p.m. PST on Monday night in Sacramento.
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