Domantas Sabonis recalls viral EuroBasket moment vs Bosnia, assesses FIBA basketball / News - Basketnews.com

Domantas Sabonis says FIBA basketball is tough where you can't just shoot any kind of shot because every possession really matters.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Domantas Sabonis prepares for a new season with the Kings which are seeking to finally end a disastrous stretch since Sacramento hasn't made the playoffs in an NBA-record 16 seasons.

Domantas Sabonis

Position:PF, CAge:26Height:211 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Portland, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The Lithuanian big man is coming off a FIBA EuroBasket 2022 with the brightest NBA stars on board.

Just like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic, Sabonis says it's harder to play basketball in Europe than in the NBA.

"It's definitely tough. There's a lot of coaching and a lot of scouting. The defense is already set. You can't just shoot any kind of shot. Every possession really matters. All of the games are usually point-to-point. Any turnover or silly travel really hurts your team," Sabonis told Mark Medina of NBA.com.

"And you're playing for your country and in a tournament like it's March Madness. In the playoffs, you have seven games. If you mess a game up, there's usually not an upset. If an NBA team beats you, they're better because they won four games against you. In Europe, if you have an off night, you're struggling. You can't just rely on offense," a two-time NBA All-Star added.

Lithuania advanced to the EuroBasket Round of 16 before losing to Spain which eventually became the kings of Europe.

"It was a hell of an experience playing for your country. I feel like we were a really good team but we were unlucky. We were in a tough group. I'm excited for next year. I feel like we let our chance go.

"Every game we lost, it was either in overtime or we were up in the last few minutes. We almost played against every Final Four team. We'll come back next year stronger. Where we struggled, we have to do better, talk more and do scouting. We'll do all of those things to be better prepared," Sabonis assured.

Last but not least, a Lithuanian star commented on a viral EuroBasket moment.

A Bosnian player taunted Sabonis after blocking his dunk but Arnas Butkevicius rose up immediately and delivered a poster on Lithuanians' opponent.

What was that moment like?

"The game was dead at that point. There were only a couple of minutes left. I went up and got blocked, and he was screaming. I wondered, 'Why are you screaming?' The game is over. It's an elimination game, and they were already eliminated. I see my teammate coming and I thought, 'I'll distract him for a second so he gets dunked on.' Then when he got dunked on, I screamed in his face," Sabonis remembered the whole situation.

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