Domantas Sabonis is receiving the recognition he deserves.
On Monday's episode of "The Old Man and The Three Things" podcast, former NBA player JJ Redick sang Sabonis' praises as a playmaker, comparing him to reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokić.
"This is not a disrespect to Sabonis but he is 'Jokić Light,' " Redick told co-host Tommy Alter regarding Sabonis' ability to find the open player. "He's not a poor man's Jokić because he's f--king awesome."
Redick, a former 3-point marksman, says he's "not surprised" by Sabonis' playmaking and notes that the 26-year-old center might have been mislabeled as a player during his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"They had him basically as a stretch-four; shot a lot of 3s, not really his game," Redick said. "He's a masher in the post and he's a hub out of that delay action.
"... And out of that action, there's a lot of passing so he hits a lot of cutters, back cuts, and then his dribble handoff game is phenomenal, especially on that left side with [Kevin] Huerter coming to his right."
In the 2022-23 NBA season, Sabonis is averaging a career-high 7.1 assists per game. His previous career high was 6.7 per game, a mark he reached in his second All-Star season with the Indiana Pacers during the 2020-21 season.
NBA
Along with his impressive assist numbers for a center, Sabonis leads the league in double-doubles with 33, one more than Jokić.
Sabonis also won the Western Conference Player of the Week award from Jan. 9-15 after leading the Kings to a 4-0 record while averaging 18.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 10.3 assists.
He also had a historic performance against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 13 with 19 points, 16 assists, and 15 rebounds. The last time a Kings player had a similar stat line was in 1965 when Oscar Robertson had 28 points, 20 rebounds, and 16 assists against the New York Knicks.
RELATED: Domas joins Kings' Fox in NBA All-Star voting top 10
Due to his play in recent weeks, Sabonis cracked the top 10 in the third and final fan voting returns for the 2023 NBA All-Star starters.
And now that Sabonis is getting the attention of the national sports media for his play, it's only a matter of time until the rest of the Kings are recognized as well.