Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when he learned about the news of DeMar DeRozan joining Sacramento.
Sabonis, who represented Lithuania in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, touched down at LAX following the Lithuanian men's national basketball team's loss to Puerto Rico, disqualifying them from the Olympic Games for the second time in a row.
Upon Sabonis' arrival back to California, all the focus was on his newest Kings teammate.
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"I'm excited, he's going to be a big piece," Sabonis told TMZ Sports. "He's huge, he's going to elevate us. So, [I] can't wait."
Sacramento is coming off a season in which it finished with a 46-36 record, just two wins less than the season before in which it finished as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed. But 46 wins was only good enough for the No. 9 seed, a position the Kings weren't able to dig themselves out of and sneak into a playoff series.
But with DeRozan now in the mix and the return of Malik Monk, who took a pay cut to re-sign with the Kings this offseason, the Kings -- led by their All-Stars Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox -- are ready to bounce back with a vengeance in 2024-25.
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"We already got, Fox, we got Malik, and now we got DeRozan," Sabonis said, with a smile on his face. "We can get a bucket at any time. It makes life a lot easier on the court."