Domantas Sabonis says he is ‘just playing it smart’ as the Kings bring him back from knee surgery

Domantas Sabonis told reporters after the Kings’ practice on Sunday, October 18, that he feels good and is “just playing it smart” with his body, a careful tone from a center whose last season ended on an operating table and whose team lost another big man for the year that same afternoon.

That caution matters for Sacramento. Sabonis is the hub of the Kings’ offense when healthy, and the roster around him has turned over: Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan are gone, while rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. arrived. Ben Simmons, another newcomer, suffered a torn Achilles at the same Sunday practice and is expected to miss the season, which leaves even more of the frontcourt load with Sabonis.

A season cut to 19 games

Sabonis played only 19 games in 2025-26. A torn meniscus in his left knee cost him 27 games between November and January, he returned on January 16, and in February he had surgery that ended his year. In those 19 games he still averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists with 59.0 percent true shooting, and he logged 12 double-doubles. His 11.4 rebounds a game ranked sixth among the 582 players in the site’s 2025-26 tables.

The exhibition schedule was a slow build. He played just over 10 minutes in the October 5 loss to the Lakers, with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. In the October 16 game at San Antonio he was on the floor for nearly 30 minutes and posted 14 points and 10 rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting, though the Kings lost 126-97 in the first look at their projected starters together.

Ready for games that count

Sabonis said he is eager for “the real games to start,” and for Sacramento’s rotation to take shape. That is still an open question: the Kings are folding Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray back in after injuries of their own, and Malik Monk’s status for the start of the season remains uncertain. A healthy Sabonis gives coach Doug Christie the one fixed point around which to sort out the rest.

His reference to other big men going down was a reminder of how thin the margin is. With Simmons out, the Kings need their center’s minutes and his passing from the elbow more than ever, and they need him upright in April as well as in October.

What comes next

The Kings open the 2026-27 season at the Clippers on Wednesday, October 21, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern (Game Center). Their home opener follows against the Portland Trail Blazers (Game Center). Follow the team on the Kings page and every status update on the injury report.