Kings star Domantas Sabonis' result in the 2023/24 NBA MVP election completely stunned fans

The Sacramento Kings had a solid 2023-24 season, a year after reaching the NBA playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. The star duo De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis is proving to be one of the most promising in the league. Additionally, Sabonis has reached new heights after a career year. The star forward surprised fans with his result in the 2023-24 NBA MVP election.

Sabonis received one vote for fourth place in the prestigious award, as a graphic on the NBA Communications X page shows:

With his ranking, Sabonis was two points above Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant. Sabonis' push up the rankings caused a stir among fans on social media:

Most fans recognized that Sabonis is a top player; Still, they felt he didn't deserve to be in the NBA MVP race. On the other hand, some believed that Sabonis' regular season performances were good enough that his name was at least mentioned.

The star forward may not have been the MVP in the eyes of voters, but he took first place in the hearts of Kings fans.

Domantas Sabonis showed an outstanding performance in the 2023/24 regular season. The 28-year-old averaged a league-leading 19.4 points, 13.7 rebounds and a career-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Sabonis was one of the few players to play in all 82 regular season games. He also collected the most triple-doubles in the NBA with 26. Sabonis' performance has him in the conversation for his second All-NBA honor.

Additionally, Sabonis became only the seventh player in NBA history to record 77 double-doubles in the regular season. He was the one First to achieve the feat since Moses Malone 1978-79. Sabonis delivered like few in the NBA in 2023-24. Still, Sacramento failed to make the playoffs after losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in the second play-in tournament game.

However, that won't stop the Kings from having a bright future.

The Kings want to continue to develop promising talent

Sacramento finished the 2022-23 season with an impressive 48-34 record, which earned them the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. As a result, the Kings reached the postseason for the first time since 2006. Unfortunately, Sacramento lost its first round series to the Golden State Warriors in seven games.

On the bright side, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis earned their first All-NBA honors after the season. They became the first Kings duo in franchise history to achieve this feat in the same season.

A year later, the star duo helped the Kings have a chance of making it into the playoffs again. Even if they didn't make it, Sacramento retains some of the NBA's most promising talent. Like Sabonis, Fox had a career year in 2023-24.

Fox amassed a career-high 26.6 points along with 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 74 regular-season games. Additionally, he totaled 2.0 steals per contest, leading the NBA. The star point guard isn't the only one leading the new era of Kings talent.

Keegan Murray is Sacramento's prized sharpshooter. Murray turned in one of the league's most impressive regular-season performances in the Kings' 125-104 win on December 16 over the Utah Jazz. He set two franchise records in one night: most points in a third quarter (26) and most three-pointers in a game (12).

The trio of Murray, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis look to continue to rise in preparation for the 2024-25 season. Sabonis may not have won the NBA MVP award in 2024, but there's nothing stopping him or any of his teammates from receiving the award in the future.