The Kings made a marginal move to address the Grade 1 left hamstring strain Domantas Sabonis suffered early in Saturday night’s 113-103 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
Sacramento announced on Sunday it officially signed center and familiar face Skal Labissière to a 10-day contract. Full contract details were not disclosed, per team policy.
Labissière, of course, has been with the Kings before. He initially was acquired by the franchise on the night of the 2016 NBA Draft via a trade with the Phoenix Suns and played his first 148 career games in Sacramento, before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2019-20 trade deadline.
Labissière remained in the Pacific Northwest through the 2019-20 season – his final NBA stop before this week – and returns to Sacramento having played 30 games over the past two seasons for its G-League affiliate Stockton Kings.
Labissière averaged 16 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over 28.2 minutes in Stockton before being summoned to Sacramento. Big-league opportunities have been hard to find for the former Kentucky Wildcats star, as Labissière often has been subjugated to the G League, where he’s played 83 career games.
Skal Labissiere with the put-back SLAM‼️ 😤@StocktonKings
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 16, 2025
Tune in live to the #GLeagueUpNextGame presented by @att on @Tubi. pic.twitter.com/7wISkbGOQI
Labissière, six-foot-10 and 235 pounds, rejoins the Kings with career NBA averages of 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds over 17.5 minutes per game. If he plays, it surely will be to provide depth support behind Jonas Valančiūnas, who stands as Sacramento’s lone rotational center with Sabonis sidelined for what ideally will be a short stint.
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Off the bench in the Kings’ win over the Rockets, Valančiūnas finished with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 14 rebounds over 30 minutes. Interim coach Doug Christie would love to have more of that, but Labissière at least provides insurance.
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