Former Gonzaga standouts Domantas Sabonis and Rui Hachimura trying to make noise in NBA playoffs
Gonzaga’s nine-man contingent in the NBA is down to two healthy players involved in the Western Conference playoffs.
Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings became one of the league’s feel-good stories, not only snapping the longest playoff drought in league history at 16 years but also the longest active playoff drought in the four major professional sports.
The third-seeded Kings open against defending champion Golden State on Saturday. Sabonis has made the playoffs four times previously, but was inactive with a foot injury in 2020 with Indiana.
The seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired Rui Hachimura from Washington in January, face No. 8 Minnesota on Tuesday in the play-in tournament.
Fourth-year Memphis forward Brandon Clarke tore his left Achilles in early March. The Grizzlies are the second seed in the Western Conference. Chet Holmgren missed his entire rookie season (right foot) after being drafted second overall by Oklahoma City, which is the 10th seed and meets No. 9 New Orleans in the play-in tournament.
Here’s a recap of the season for former Zags.
Sabonis had the best year of his career, which is saying something for a three-time All-Star. He led the NBA in rebounding (12.3 per game) and the Kings in assists (7.3) while averaging 19.1 points on the best field-goal percentage (61.5) of his seven seasons.
Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox anchor the Kings, whose 118.6 offensive rating is the highest in NBA history. The Kings made the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and they are division winners for the first time since 2003. They are the team with the longest preseason odds (250/1) to win a division in one of the four major North American sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL) since at least 2010.
Sacramento will be underdogs again versus the Warriors in what figures to be a high-scoring series. The Kings are 11th among title favorites, seventh among Western Conference teams behind No. 1 seed Denver, No. 2 Memphis, No. 4 Phoenix, No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers, No. 6 Golden State and No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers, according to FOX Bet.
Hachimura is still settling in with Los Angeles. He finished the regular season by averaging 12.8 points in the last five games, including his Lakers highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Houston.
The 6-foot-8 forward started eight games shortly after joining the Lakers. He’s come off the bench in 22 of the last 23 games. He averages 9.6 points and 4.7 boards in 22.4 minutes in a Lakers uniform after contributing 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 30 games with Washington.
Hachimura’s 2-point percentage of 55.6% as a Laker is the best of his four-year career, but his 3-point accuracy has slipped to 29.7%. In his only previous playoff experience, he made 60% behind the 3-point arc and averaged 14.8 points and 7.0 rebounds for Washington against Philadelphia in 2021. He closed the series with 20 and 21 points in the final two games.
Clarke has been solid off the Grizzlies’ bench for four years, including 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds on a career-best 65.6% field-goal shooting before suffering his season-ending injury. He averaged 19.5 minutes in 56 games.
Holmgren told The Spokesman-Review in mid-February his recovery was on schedule from a Lisfranc injury.
Corey Kispert took big steps forward in his second season with the Wizards. The 6-foot-7 wing closed the season with the best stretch of his career. He scored in double figures in his last nine games and 18 of the last 21. He set three career highs for points in a 10-day span.
Kispert elevated his scoring average to 11.1 points and connected on 42.4% of his 3-point attempts. He finished 10th in 3-point accuracy and had the top field-goal percentage (49.7) of the nine players in front of him.
He made nine 3s against Orlando on March 31 en route to a career-high 27 points. He tallied 29 points two nights later against the New York Knicks.
Jalen Suggs, the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft, had an up-and-down second year with Orlando, but he finished strongly. Injuries sidetracked Suggs for 24 games in the first half of the season. When he returned, Suggs came off the bench for all but six games.
Suggs’ numbers dropped slightly this season to 23.5 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists compared to 27.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a rookie.
He posted better shooting stats at nearly 50% on 2-pointers and 32.7% on 3s, compared to 44.3% and 21.4%, respectively, last season.
Andrew Nembhard, selected with the first pick of the second round by Indiana, quickly moved into the starting lineup and delivered 9.5 points and 4.5 assists in 27.5 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-5 rookie guard hit a game-winning 3-pointer over LeBron James at the buzzer to give the Pacers a memorable road win. Nembhard had a season-high 31 points and 13 assists in a road win over Golden State. He scored in double figures in 30 games and had a least five assists in 32 games.
Nembhard’s 2.71 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked 25th in the league.
Zach Collins had his healthiest season since 2019, and he responded with the best stats of his career. The 6-foot-11 Collins moved into San Antonio’s starting lineup after Jakob Poeltl was traded to Toronto in early February and immediately put up 29 points and 11 boards against Detroit, one of six double-doubles in the last seven weeks of the season.
Collins registered career highs in points (11.6), rebounds (6.4), assists (2.9), 2-point percentage (57.1) and 3-point percentage (37.4). He scored in double digits in 16 of his last 17 games.
Coach and team President Gregg Popovich recently told the San Antonio Express-News that Collins will be the starting center at the outset of next season.
Kelly Olynyk fulfilled the steady veteran role for the rebuilding Utah Jazz, producing 12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 68 starts in his 10th NBA season.
The 6-foot-11 forward made 57.6% on 2-pointers, 39.4% on 3s and 85.3% at the free-throw line. Olynyk had nine games with at least 20 points.