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NBA: 30 greatest international players in league history

By Daniel Lubofsky

SAN ANTONIO - MAY 09: Guard Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns dribbles the ball past Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs in Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 9, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO - MAY 09: Guard Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns dribbles the ball past Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs in Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 9, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Domantas Sabonis, Pacers
Domantas Sabonis, Pacers (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Greatest international NBA players of all time: 29. Domantas Sabonis

Though blessed with a Hall of Famer for a father, Domantas Sabonis was never expected to be at this point in his career. He spent his rookie season as a supporting cast member to Russell Westbrook’s one-man MVP campaign. He was then part of the deal that brought Paul George to OKC, though he was hardly the headline return for the Indiana Pacers. That title belonged to Victor Oladipo.

Yet more than three years after that trade, Oladipo is no longer with the team having been traded to Houston while Sabonis’s stock remains on the upswing.

In his first season as a starter with the Pacers in 2019-20, Sabonis blossomed to the tune of 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, all career-highs that earned him his first All-Star appearance.

Those numbers were matched only by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the second of two straight MVPs in the same season. But under the guidance of first-time head coach Nate Bjorkgren, Sabonis has taken things even higher so far this season.

As of this writing, Sabonis is averaging career-highs with 21.0 points and 5.7 assists to go along with 11.8 rebounds per game. Forget a guaranteed second All-Star nod. On a Pacers team vying for home-court advantage, Sabonis is playing his way towards a spot on one of the All-NBA teams.

He is a unique blend of brute strength that gets him to the basket as well along with a soft passing touch that returns memories of his dad.

Aside from an insignificant dip in rebounds this season, each of Sabonis’s scoring, rebounding, and passing numbers have increased in every single one of the five seasons he’s been in the NBA.

Sabonis was traded from OKC to Indiana. But even before then, Orlando drafted him 11th overall in 2015 before quickly flipping him to the Thunder on that same night.

Their loss has been Sabonis’s gain, affording him an environment that’s allowed him to blossom into one of the game’s best young big men not even 25 years old while giving the Pacers a building block they never thought would be so important.