Less than a month into his Kings tenure, 2x All-Star Domantas Sabonis is set to miss his first game.
As the league announced on Wednesday, Sabonis will sit against the Nuggets after being handed a one-game suspension for an incident that occurred with a referee.
Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been suspended one game without pay for aggressively confronting and making contact with a game official, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.
The incident began with Sabonis receiving a technical foul for an unsportsmanlike reaction to a called foul. Sabonis then reached demonstratively again in the vicinity of the game official, and approached and bumped the official in a hostile manner, resulting in a technical foul and an ejection.
The episode occurred with 4:35 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sacramento’s 131-115 loss to the New York Knicks on March 7th at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis will serve his suspension tonight when the Kings play host to the Denver Nuggets.
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/MZpwwRY3q4
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 9, 2022
The alteration in question happened late into the fourth quarter against the Knicks when Sabonis received his second technical foul of the night.
Domantas Sabonis going out in style pic.twitter.com/hLEn5gvPmk
— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) March 8, 2022
The jury is split on whether Sabonis is worthy of a suspension, but many did come to his defense in the hours after the punishment was announced — including the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento star Domantas Sabonis got heated during the Kings’ 131-115 loss to the New York Knicks Monday night. According to the NBA, Sabonis “approached and bumped the official in a hostile manner,” resulting in a one-game suspension. The NBA’s decision was publicized Wednesday afternoon, which prompted the Kings to release the organization’s stance on the situation.
The team tweeted its disapproval of the NBA’s decision, stating that he is a “consummate professional and the ultimate competitor.”
We disagree with the NBA’s decision to suspend Domantas Sabonis. He is a consummate professional and the ultimate competitor. We stand behind Domas, and he has our full support.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1501642926467649536
Sabonis was traded to Sacramento in February, as part of the highly controversial Tyrese Haliburton deal. At the time, many fans and critics considered the move a grave mistake b the franchise. Many still feel the same way today.
But, suspensions aside, it is undeniable that Sabonis brings some high-level talent to the Kings and his presence has already made an impact both on and off the court.
Fortunately, his altercation with the ref on Mondy is not indicative of who he is as a ballplayer.
