Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis to wear retired No. 11 jersey
SACRAMENTO — Domantas Sabonis will be switching to a previously retired jersey number after getting special permission from the family of a Kings legend.
On Friday, Sabonis and the team announced that the Kings All-Star would be switching jersey numbers from No. 10 to No. 11.
"The number 11 holds a special place in mine and my family's lives, having worn it throughout my career in honor of my father," said Sabonis in a statement.
No one with on Kings has worn No. 11 since it was retired to honor Bob "Harrisburg Houdini" Davies.
Davies played his whole career (1945-1955) with the Rochester Royals, one of the precursor teams to the Sacramento Kings. Notably, Davies was integral player in the 1951 NBA Finals — the series that netted the team its first and only NBA Championship, so far. Davies was eventually inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Camy Davies Keck, Bob's daughter, wished Sabonis luck.
"Given the Sabonis family's special connection to number 11, we thought it was fitting to share our dad's number with Domantas and wish him much success," Keck said in a statement.
Domantas' father, Arvydas Sabonis, is himself an NBA legend who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Kings have retired a total of 11 numbers, the most recent being Peja Stojaković's No. 16 in 2014.