Kings star Sabonis joins Wilt as only players to reach incredible feat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Another night, another dominant performance by Kings star center Domantas Sabonis.
While the NBA’s double-double leader was back to regularly scheduled programming in Sacramento’s 110-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday at Barclays Center, his shooting helped him reach an incredible milestone only one other player in league history has.
Sabonis finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range, with 22 rebounds and 10 assists in 41 minutes. He joins Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain as just the second player in NBA history to record a game with 20-plus points, 20-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists while shooting at least 80 percent from the field.
Chamberlain accomplished the feat five times over his illustrious 14-year NBA career.
Sabonis hasn’t accomplished the feat that many times yet, but he’s putting up Wilt-like numbers on a nightly basis this season with the Kings.
In 43 games, Sabonis is averaging 21 points on an efficient 60.9 percent shooting from the field and 48.1 percent from beyond the arc, with a league-leading and career-best 14.6 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 36.2 minutes.
“Like I said before, I think he’s underappreciated,” star Sacramento point guard De’Aaron Fox said Monday on NBC Sports California’s “Kings Postgame Live.” “The things he does are not normal — and he does it night in and night out. Last year he played all 82 games and he went in and did that every single game, regardless of who we’re playing against.
“It’s hard to have a motor like that, but that’s a skill.”
A skill not many possess, and the Kings will need it as they continue to climb the shaky Western Conference standings.