Kings confirm Sabonis will miss time with Grade 1 hamstring strain

Kings confirm Sabonis will miss time with Grade 1 hamstring strain originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings have the second-most difficult schedule remaining for the 2024-25 regular season, and they’ll have to take on that challenge for a few games without their star center.

MRI imaging confirmed Domantas Sabonis suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night and will be listed as out, the Kings shared late Sunday night. An update will be shared in one week.

Sabonis sustained the injury within 90 seconds of game action in Houston while running down the court and into the paint before grabbing the back of his left leg. He grimaced, asked Kings interim coach Doug Christie for a sub and immediately limped off the court.

There was no contact prior to the injury.

The 28-year-old went to the locker room with assistance from team trainers and was ruled out of the game moments later.

Veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas, whom the Kings acquired at the NBA trade deadline, entered the game for Sabonis and provided an instant impact on both ends of the floor for Sacramento. He was huge in securing the Kings’ 113-103 win, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, with 14 rebounds, one assist, four steals and three blocks in 30 minutes.

While acquiring Valančiūnas gives Kings fans a bit of relief during Sabonis’ indefinite absence, it’s undoubtedly a major blow to Sacramento, given the significance of this final stretch of basketball.

Sabonis is averaging 19.9 points on 59.6-percent shooting from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point range. He’s also averaging 14.4 rebounds per game, which leads the NBA.

The Kings wrap up their four-game road trip this week against the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets before returning home to face former Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and his San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center. They head back on the road to face the Los Angeles Clippers on March 9, which would be the one-week mark of Sunday’s injury update.

Sacramento (31-28) currently is the No. 9 playoff seed in a jumbled Western Conference and sits a half-game behind the No. 6 spot.

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