Not as a father s shadow, Sabonis, from Star II to Wolverine, Jokic level all-around data

As the son of Avidas Sabonis, Domantas Sabonis has lived in the halo and pressure of the "son of the legendary basketball" since childhood. The voice of "You are not as good as your father" grew up with him, but he refused to become a replica of his father and made a name for himself in the NBA - he did not have his father's height of 2.21 meters and 2.28 meters, but he became the "Wolverine" of the Kings with his sense of rebounding and tenacious will, and wrote the story of "the first Domantas".

In 1996, Sabonis, the Sr. was born in the Trail Blazers' first playoff season. When he was a child, he returned to Spain with his father. The most common words he heard on the court were "You are not as good as your father", but he was the one with the highest talent in basketball among the three brothers. His father said bluntly, "He is the hope of the future of family basketball." At the age of 16, Sa Sak was transferred to the adult team by the Spanish club Malaga and received a three-year contract a year later. According to his father's old path, he could have become famous in Europe before entering the NBA, but he refused - he could not play in the NCAA if he signed a professional contract, and he wanted to take a "way closer to the NBA." In 2014, at the age of 18, he joined Gonzaga University and entered the NBA as he wished two years later, taking the first step to "get rid of shadows" with his choice.

Sa's NBA journey was not smooth: he was selected by the Magic in 2016 and was traded three times in the rookie year, eventually coming to the Pacers in the deal with Paul George. Compared with his father, his physical talent is "ordinary": he is 2 meters tall, 08 meters tall, 2 meters 10 meters tall, and his dynamic talent is mediocre, far less than Lao Sa's dominant talent "2 meters 21 giants can dribble like defenders". But his father is not without his inheritance: he inherited his keenness to grab rebounds (11.8 rebounds per game in his career, two rebounding champions), good support ability (5.3 assists per game), and more importantly, his "unyi will" - this has become his "secret weapon" to fight the talent gap.

In the Kings, Sabonis Jr. has a nickname called "Wolverine", which stems from his toughness beyond imagination:

In December 2022, he had a broken avatar with a right thumb, and the operation was quit for 6-8 weeks, but the king was in full swing at that time. He asked the medical team: "Can swelling be reduced? If I can, I will continue to play." He finally played the whole season with injuries, helping the Kings end the 2016 playoff drought; the coach dislocated his fingers in the university training class, but he insisted on playing after asking his father for advice: "My father told me that he can't retreat when it should be fought." This toughness made him become the most stable "20+10" player in the league with mediocre talent (21.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists per game in the 2022-23 season), and was selected as an All-Star twice, proving the value of "Star Second Generation" without having to replicate his father.

Every second generation of stars cannot escape comparison with their parents, and Xiao Sa is no exception. University assistant coach Roeed said: "His motivation comes from his admiration for his father, and he has a sense of mission to revive the glory of the family." But he never wanted to be the "second Avidas" - his father is the "first center of the world" and "the pride of Lithuania", and he only wants to be the "first Domantas". Nowadays, Xiao Sa has become the core of the Kings with rebounds, assists, and injuries, and has become the unique "all-round insider" in the league. He may not have the shocking talent of his father, but he used his persistence and personality to make the surname "Sabonis" shine in the NBA.