Domantas Sabonis' nearly missed months with his injury. He missed a game, then scored 31 points.
Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis could have missed more than four weeks if he elected to have surgery on his fractured right thumb.
The big man sustained an avulsion fracture of the ulnar collateral ligament of the right thumb during Friday’s game against the Wizards. According to Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com, the average time lost for in-season repair due to this type of injury is 55 days or 25.1 games.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Sam Amick reported that while surgery was discussed, the big man ultimately decided to play through the pain. He said there was “no doubt” that this would be his choice.
Domantas Sabonis said there was no doubt he would play through the injury. pic.twitter.com/thUXdnmIT7
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) December 29, 2022
Sabonis missed just one game, and during his first game back, during a victory over the Nuggets, he had one of his best games of this 2022-23 campaign thus far.
He recorded a season-high 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Sabonis is enjoying a very good season for the Kings, enjoying career-best marks in catch-all metrics like Box Plus-Minus and Estimated Plus-Minus.
Sacramento has one of the best records in the Western Conference so far this season and the team remains firmly in the playoff picture. He is helping the Kings as they hope to end their 16-year playoff drought, which is the longest among all major sports in the United States.