In 2003–04, Arvydas ended his basketball career, and Domantas and his family moved to Malaga, Spain. Nevertheless, he was just sixteen years old, he didn’t enter into a professional deal with Unicaja that included a payment to maintain his NCAA eligibility.
To play in the NCAA, Sabonis declined a three-year, $630,000 contract from Unicaja. He committed to Gonzaga University’s NCAA Division I team before the 2014–15 season.
He assisted the Gonzaga Bulldogs in their 91-75 victory over the BYU Cougars on March 10 to help them win the WCC Tournament Title for the third time in a row. The Orlando Magic picked Sabonis with the 11th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
On draft night, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka along with Ersan Lyasova and Victor Oladipo.
In a 103-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on October 26 as the team’s starting power forward, he made his Thunder debut. In 16 minutes, he scored five points and pulled down four rebounds.
While the Thunder were the sixth seed in the 2016–17 NBA Playoffs, they were defeated 4–1 by the Houston Rockets in the opening round, and Sabonis saw just six minutes of action. On July 6, 2017, Sabonis and Victor Oladipo were exchanged for Paul George by the Indiana Pacers.
Due to the unexpected trade, he was not only unable to take part in the 2017 NBA Summer League, but he was also unable to play for the Lithuanian national team during the 2017 EuroBasket. The Pacers and Sabonis agreed to a four-year, $77 million contract the day before the 2019–20 season began.
Sabonis became only the second Lithuanian to be selected as an NBA All-Star for his outstanding accomplishments, earning him a spot in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game with an average of 18 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.
Sabonis also participated in the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge, where he lost against Bam Adebayo in the championship round but came close to taking home the trophy.
He contributed to Team LeBron’s 157-155 triumph in his first All-Star appearance, putting him on the winning side. In 2015, Sabonis made his EuroBasket debut for Lithuania, taking home a silver medal. He competed for Lithuania’s Olympic national team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The Pacers dealt Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and a 2023 second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings on February 8, 2022 in exchange for Tristan Thompson, Buddy Hield, and Tyrese Haliburton.
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