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The Lithuanian had already flown to the bubble of the chosen ones, but his parents were unable to travel this time due to the pandemic.
“It is clear that he wanted to make the All-Star team, but he knew that anyone else could have been chosen this year,” Rytas D. Sabonis, 24.211 cm tall, told Lietuvos.
Somewhat disappointed, but not surprised, this was his reaction when the composition of the All-Star team did not see his name after the announcement at the beginning.
At the time, even the legendary Shaquille O’Neal on American television regretted being uncomfortable with “baby Sabonis,” as he calls the son of his former rival Arvydas Sabonis.
Then Domant decided to take a five-day break to fly with his fiancee Shashan in Los Angeles and unwind after a grueling marathon of games: “It’s really cold in Indiana, I wanted to be where the sun is.”
However, when it soon became clear that after Durant’s fall from trauma, the last place among the stars went to him, D. Sabonis was unable to come down.
Getting into the top 24 players in the NBA is an achievement whose value is understood by anyone who dreams of becoming a basketball player.
For Lithuanians, the door to this elite party is rarely opened. Apart from D. Sabonis, only Žydrūnas Ilgauskas was admitted to the chosen club, but it was a long time ago, in 2003 and 2005.
The father of D. Sabonis, A. Sabonis, was never chosen among all the stars.
Only until the rookie game in 1996, when he was the 31-year-old senior rookie on the field. He told his son so much about that night in San Antonio that his goal in the game was “sabonic”: to play as little as possible.
Domantas laughed remembering the story of this father. When he entered the rookie game of the NBA debut season himself in 2017, he wanted to be on the field as much as possible. But this year he doesn’t want to steal either.
“Last year, the goal may have been to play as much as possible, but this year, as little as possible,” laughed D. Sabonis. – Because the schedule in the second half of the NBA season is very difficult, we play every other day.
Even 39 or 40 games in two months, we will play and fly, it will be more difficult than in the first half of the season. “
NBA players have never experienced this rhythm. Due to the shortening of the season due to the pandemic, the league tried to play as many games as possible.
“On the other hand, it’s good because there are fewer training sessions,” laughed D. Sabonis.
In fact, teams have minimal training time this year. Sometimes the training doesn’t happen at all because of a feature of the pandemic era: coronavirus testing.
The NBA reviews its players twice a day.
And so every day. If the test results are delayed when arriving at the arena in the morning, the training may be canceled because no player will be admitted to the hall without a negative test that day. Training has been canceled and due to positive tests in the team.
“They test us twice a day: both in the morning and in the afternoon, around five in the afternoon.
But it happens that on Sundays the game is played in the middle of the day, at the second or third hour, then we have to go to test at midnight ”, said D. Sabonis.
Due to such a marathon, basketball players feel more tired than ever.
However, this is rarely reflected in the play of D. Sabonis, although he spends an average of 36.4 minutes on the pitch. His point average, 21.2, is the best in a five-year NBA career. He bounces 11.3 balls, giving 5.9 assists.
Only those who show a high level day after day and year after year become true NBA stars, which is why the star of D. Sabonis rises higher and higher every year.
On Sunday in Atlanta, he will participate not only in the game between the teams formed by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, but, like last year, in a skills competition.
– Domantas, you were able to rest during the All-Star break, but you finally entered the national team from the reserve list. What was it like not to enter at the beginning and then to be chosen among the stars? – Lietuvos Rytas asked the basketball player.
– Of course I wanted to get in, but I knew they were all very the same in this year’s Eastern Conference. All teams in the table get a win or half. I knew that anyone could be chosen because they all play very well. It was as it was.
And then I already planned a five-day vacation, but a call from the NBA says he has to travel to Atlanta. All plans ended.
I had to go to Atlanta. (Smile.)
Many NBA stars have made it clear that they don’t think it’s a good idea to have an All-Star game during a pandemic. What do you think about that?
– The NBA knows what it’s doing. It is clear that this competition is very popular, every year everyone watches, many fans are waiting.
Maybe it’s good for people to watch and enjoy how the best of them play with each other during a pandemic.
I know the NBA is doing everything right, testing for coronavirus all the time. There will be a bubble in Atlanta, so I think everything will be fine.
– You once said that when you were little you watched all the all-star games in the NBA. What do you remember most from childhood?
– I remember that we always waited with brothers and friends until two or three in the morning to watch those games, putting and three-point competitions.
We waited, we waited, and when there were twenty minutes left, we fell asleep and saw nothing. Then we just look at the excerpts. (Laughs)
– And now with which stars is it more fun to be in a team and not play as rivals?
– With everyone! Last year, everything was so impressive: I looked around me, and all the best there: LeBron (James), AD (Anthony Davis), Russell (Russell Westbrook).
Everyone is screaming, happy, talking to everyone … It was a very good experience.
– Last year, the whole family, both parents and brothers, sister, attended the All-Star game in Chicago. This year, a thousand guests will attend the event. Will the family be among them?
– This year, of course, parents will not be able to. But there will be a sister, that little family will.
– This season you are playing the best basketball in history even of all the Lithuanians in the NBA: three triple double digits, even 24 double double digits. Such numbers have become commonplace. What makes such a good performance?
– Friends of the team. In each game, the coach draws me the combinations, the teammates try to pass the ball in good positions, and I – to finish the attacks. Without them, I could do nothing.
We play team basketball, this is the best racing season for all players.
The new system developed by the coach works well, so we tried to take advantage of that opportunity.
– But let’s not forget that he has not competed for nine months before this season due to injuries. Did you expect such a good season after a long break?
– Every summer while I work I try to improve my game.
First I needed to heal the trauma and then start to work little by little.
He knew that this year he would have a bigger role in the team to be the leader together with Malcolm Brogdon. I tried to improve the game in every way.
– The Pacers team has been in a small pot lately, but it is still high and would like to reach the Eastern Conference finals. However, this would mean that you will not be able to represent Lithuania in the Olympic qualifying tournament, which will take place from June 29.
Are there teams for the national team and the Olympics in the summer plans?
– The national team, of course, is. I want to play in the playoffs and enter the Olympics. But it depends on the NBA season, on how we play next.
Sure, I want to go far with the Indiana team, but I also want to play for the national team.
The situation is the same for Jonas Valančiūnas. We will see how things will be.
The basketball player’s plans include a wedding.
Sabonis is preparing to start a family with former dancer Shashana Rosen, 28. The couple share photos on social media as they prepare for the wedding. In one of the photos, D. Sabonis’s sister, Aušrinė, helps Shashan choose a dress.
“Wherever you go, I will go too”, said D. Sabonis to his beloved romantic words. “My life,” the woman wrote in Spanish.
The couple announced their engagement late last summer. In September, D. Sabonis and his future wife visited Lithuania and visited the most beautiful places in the country. In January of this year, loved ones rested in Hawaii.
Shashana is the founder of dance studio The Movement, formerly a backup dancer for the Lakers basketball team.
The NBA event will last for hours.
The NBA All-Star Festival will take place at the Atlanta State Farm Arena on Sunday, March 7, but it will be in Lithuania after midnight on March 8.
1 pm 30 minutes. A skills contest will start, in which D. Sabonis will participate. It will be followed by a three-point sniper competition. 3 pm the All-Star game will begin and the Air King Laying contest will take place during the big jump.
Team LeBron and Team Durant will compete against each other, with captains LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets). The team will fight for victory in each quarter, which means that each quarter will start with a score of 0: 0.
In the last quarter, the time will not be counted and the winner of the team that obtains the first number of points will be announced. It will be determined by taking the sum of the points of the leading team after three halves and adding 24 points. This is NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s jersey number.
In Lithuania, NBA All-Star games and competitions will be broadcast on TV3 Sport TV and online on the Go3 platform.
Skills competition participants. Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers), Luka Dončičius (Dallas Mavericks), Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns), Nikola Vučevičius (Orlando Magic), Julius Randle (New York Knicks) and Robert Covington (Portland Trail Blazers).
Participants of the sniper competition. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Mike Conley (Utah Jazz) and Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls).
Participants in the Air King contest. Obi Toppinas (“New York Knicks”), Cassius Stanley (“Indiana Pacers”) go Anfernee Simmonsas (“Portland Trail Blazers”).
