The Sacramento Kings are shutting down another one of their best players for the remainder of the season, leading to a whole lot of comments about the team’s intentions.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that forward Domantas Sabonis underwent season-ending surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus. This comes on the same day that wing Zach LaVine underwent season-ending surgery to repair a tendon injury in his hand.
The Kings already have the NBA’s worst record, and the decision to shut down two of their leading players for the rest of the season felt a lot like tanking to some fans.
Kings turning the surgery table into the ultimate tank accelerator Sabonis out = lottery locked in. Front office probably popping champagne rn .
— Lyon (@Lyon970) February 18, 2026
They’re having dudes cut open to tank 😭😭😭😭
— Alex (@0toHerr0) February 18, 2026
Silver ain’t letting y’all get that #1 pick man😂
— Touchdowns & Tip Offs (@TDs_And_TipOffs) February 18, 2026
To be fair to Sabonis, he has been laboring through the knee injury all season, and genuinely tried to fight through it to continue playing. His numbers suffered when he did play, as he averaged 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds in 19 games, significantly down from the numbers he had been posting the last few years.
On the other hand, the Kings have a lot of incentive to lose as much as possible down the stretch. They enter play Wednesday at 12-44 and might as well try to maximize their chances of getting the No. 1 overall pick. They have a much better chance of getting away with it as well, since their list of injuries is more than what some other teams have been able to point to. The league won’t be thrilled, but there is not much they can do in this case.
