2:33pm: Sabonis did not undergo surgery on his thumb, a league source tells James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link). It seems that Maksvytis was misinformed or something was lost in translation.
The Kings’ big man continues to follow a “strict rehab protocol,” Ham adds.
12:57pm: Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who suffered an avulsion fracture in his right thumb last season, underwent a surgical procedure to address the injury, according to Lithuanian national team head coach Kazys Maksvytis.
The Kings have been cagey about providing updates on Sabonis’ thumb during the offseason, with general manager Monte McNair declining to comment in his post-draft press conference on whether or not the star center went under the knife.
However, as BasketNews.com relays, in discussing the anticipated absence of Sabonis for the 2023 World Cup, Maksvytis confirmed in a presser of his own that the big man underwent surgery.
“He tried to recover without the surgery, but it didn’t work, and he lost time,” Maksvytis said. “After the surgery, everything takes longer.”
Sabonis, who broke his thumb in December, only missed a single game before returning to action. The injury didn’t slow him down much, as he averaged 19.1 points, a league-leading 12.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in 79 games (34.6 MPG) during his first full season in Sacramento, earning his third All-Star berth and his first All-NBA nod. Sabonis cashed in this offseason when he signed a four-year extension that includes a renegotiated salary for 2023/24.
Without a formal update from the Kings, it’s unclear what sort of recovery timeline Sabonis might be looking at or whether he’ll be available when training camp begins in September. However, McNair did say last month that the team’s expectation is that the 27-year-old will be “good to go” for the regular season this fall.
As for Lithuania’s national team, Maksvytis said during his press conference that Sabonis “apologized for not coming and promised to be available next summer” for the 2024 Olympics.
Draymond Green also apparently murdered him on court and then ate him, if you believe lunatics on these comments threads.
And if we believed you, Draymond was trying to help Sabonis up with his foot.
Well hoops rumors acted like the mainstream media by accident