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Gonzaga Basketball

Former Gonzaga standout Domantas Sabonis traded to Sacramento

Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis drives toward the basket on Cleveland’s Evan Mobley during Sunday’s game in Cleveland. (Associated Press)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Domantas Sabonis has played in exactly 400 games in six NBA seasons, the last 319 with the Indiana Pacers. No. 401 will come in a Sacramento Kings uniform.

Sabonis, the former Gonzaga standout and a two-time NBA All-Star, was traded Tuesday to the Kings in a six-player swap between two teams with nearly identical records.

The Kings (20-35) acquired Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2027 second-round draft pick. The Pacers (19-36) picked up Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson.

Sabonis and Haliburton are the biggest names in the trade. Sabonis is averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He’s hitting a career-high 63.9% of his shots inside the arc and 74% at the free-throw line, second only to his first season as a Pacer (75%) in 2018. He has 34 double-doubles .

The 25-year-old Sabonis didn’t make the All-Star roster this season, but his current stats mirror his previous two years when he was selected for the All-Star game. He averaged career highs in points (20.3) and assists (6.7) while pulling down 12.0 rebounds last season. In 2020, the 6-foot-11 Sabonis averaged 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

Sabonis is scheduled to make $18.5 million in the second season of his four-year contract. That figure climbs to $19.4 in 2023-24.

The 21-year-old Haliburton is averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists in his second NBA season.

Sabonis played two seasons at Gonzaga before going 11th overall in the 2016 draft. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds as a rookie for Oklahoma City. Sabonis found a better fit with Indiana, which traded Paul George for Sabonis and Victor Oladipo after the 2017 season.

Sabonis showed off his playmaking ability while averaging 16.3 points, 10.5 boards and 4.2 assists in four-plus seasons with the Pacers.

Sabonis and Hall of Famer John Stockton are the only former Zags to become NBA All-Stars. Stockton played in 10 All-Star games.

Sabonis came off the bench as a GU freshman in 2015 and averaged 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. He averaged nearly 32 minutes per game in 2016 and his averages soared to 17.6 points and 11.8 boards.

Sacramento hasn’t made the NBA playoffs since 2006, a 15-year streak that is tied for the longest in league history. The Pacers are in rebuilding mode after trading Caris LeVert and a second-round pick to Cleveland for guard Ricky Rubio on Sunday. Rubio is out for the season with a torn ACL.