Kings center Domantas Sabonis reveals new strict diet he started before the season

Alongside De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis was one of the main reasons why the Kings returned to the playoffs last season after almost two decades of continued failure. This current campaign, the big man continues to prove he’s a dominant force as he revealed he’s had to take some important steps in his personal life to maintain his form.

In a recent interview with insider Sam Amick, the Sacramento center explained what changes he took this past summer to guarantee another strong season in northern California. First, he underwent a test that displayed the different kinds of foods he’s sensitive to, and then decided to apply this knowledge to his diet.

Even though he had to cut off many dishes he loves, especially Italian food, he admits he feels better than ever. “I learned that everything I love I couldn’t eat (laughs). So it definitely was hard,” Sabonis told the reporter. “It was hard. I get to do my test again after six months, and usually they say that everything you eat, a lot your body gets adapted to it, so hopefully the things I love that I’ve cut out, when I redo this test, some things might pop back up that I’m allowed to eat again.”

Domas revealed he started a strict diet in the offseason to get his body right for the Kings' 2023-24 season 💪 https://t.co/mGOssr3vqd

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 31, 2024

Sabonis immediately started to notice how this strict diet was changing his lifestyle for good. “No carbs, like wheat,” he shared. “I had to go gluten-free. I can’t do gluten-free pasta, and I love Italian food.”

“There’s a lot of carbs in my diet, so I had to basically cut most of them out in terms of pasta, bread. I love croissants, pastries, all that stuff. Those would be my cheat meals. So I have to stay away from that,” he said.

“But I actually didn’t lose weight. I actually gained weight, which is the craziest thing. I just have like no body fat now. … The weight is still there — 248 to 250 (pounds). That’s where I stay at during the season. But the body fat is completely down. It wasn’t high before, but now it’s like nothing,” Domantas concluded.

Despite the self discipline needed to adjust to a new diet, the decisions already seems to be paying off for the Lithuanian star. The six-foot-ten athlete is almost averaging career highs in every stat department, with 19.9 points on 61.9% shooting from the field and 44%t from beyond the arc, plus 13 rebounds and 7.9 assists over 45 contests.

Kings coach Mike Brown attributed Wednesday’s loss to the Heat’s desperate need to end losing streak

This Wednesday evening, the Heat welcomed the Kings to the Kaseya Center with the hope of breaking their seven-straight losing streak. By the end of the game, they had completed their mission after beating their rivals 115 to 106.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to be hard to come into somebody’s building — especially a team that’s desperate like the Heat — and have three deflections in the second half and go 0-for-6 on the 50-50 balls,” coach Mike Brown said after the contest.

The South Beach club were determined to win their first match since January 15, and played without fear. Jimmy Butler led the Miami pack 31 points, while Keegan Murray dropped a game-high 33.

“We’ve been in that situation a week ago or something like that. We knew they were hungry for a win and they came out and played like that,” the Kings forward shared postgame. “So kudos to them.”