Domantas Sabonis continues his superstar run, "Unless I can't walk, I'm going to play"

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You could see it from the opening tip. Despite a week away, Domantas Sabonis wasn’t the same player who dominated the pre All-Star break schedule. 

An undisclosed illness placed the Sacramento Kings’ star center on the injury report. He entered Thursday’s battle against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs as doubtful. Even when he jogged to the locker room at 6:15, he couldn’t confirm whether he would see the court.

“We’ll see, it’s not up to me,” Sabonis told the Kings Beat.

It’s not a mystery now. Sabonis not only played, he crushed the competition, like he has so many times this season. His 22-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance in the Kings’ 127-122 win over the Spurs has somehow become commonplace. He even had enough juice in the tank to blow by Wembanyama on the break during the third quarter.

Sabonis admitted during practice on Saturday that the Spurs game was the first time he had touched a ball in a week. Whatever the illness, it had knocked him down, but luckily for the Kings, not out.

“It was definitely tough, but like I always say, unless I can’t walk, I’m not not going to play,” Sabonis said.