Domantas Sabonis knows he wouldn’t have found NBA success without the support of his wife, Shashana Sabonis.
Domantas, who led the league in rebounding in both 2023 and 2024 and is a three-time All-Star, comes from a legacy of basketball greatness — his father, Arvydas Sabonis is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Part of Domantas’ motivation comes from having his wife attend nearly every game. When Shashana attended one of Damontas’ postgame press conferences, he even revealed that he tries to point at her every time he scores.
Supporting Domantas hasn’t been Shashana’s first time around a basketball court as she used to be a dancer for the Los Angeles Lakers. Shashana has a long history with dance as she founded The Movement Los Angeles dance studio, The Company dance studio and Superstars Dance Academy.
According to Forward, Domantas met his wife at the Los Angeles restaurant Catch and they went Instagram-official in 2019. After getting engaged in 2020, Domantas and Shashana got married on the French Riviera in August 2021. They have two kids together: Tiger, born Mar. 11, 2022, and Eleven Rose, born July 11, 2023.
While Domantas is known for being relatively private, he gave fans an inside look at his life on and off the court with his family in Netflix’s 2024 docuseries Starting 5, which also starred LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum. In a promotional interview, Domantas told Antonio (Tony) Ray Harvey that Shashana encouraged him to participate in the docuseries and thanked her for his success.
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m the one who doesn’t like being in front of cameras, so she’s the one who always wants me to do more and really show myself out there,” Domantas said. “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be here today, so she always pushes me to be better.”
So, who is Domantas Sabonis’ wife? Here’s everything to know about Shashana Sabonis and her relationship with the basketball star.
Shashana comes from a large, athletic and artistic family
Shashana comes by her athleticism and appreciation of dance honestly. She was born on Oct. 16, 1992, to Jimmy Rosen, president and founder of Fitness Blowout — a home gym equipment company — and owner of Super Gym’s Fitness and Sports Academy, and Tiffany Rosen.
Shashana has five siblings: two brothers, Sage and Shai, and three sisters, Shaynee, Shaya and Sasha.
Sage is a dancer with nearly 4 million TikTok followers and was a runner-up on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors with actress, singer and Dance Moms alum Mackenzie Ziegler. Sasha lists herself as a cinematographer and photographer on her TikTok account, and has featured Sage in many of her videos.
Shashana’s brother Shai is also a dancer, whom Shashana opened a dance studio with.
Shashana co-founded multiple dance studios
Shashana is the co-founder of multiple dance studios including The Movement Los Angeles dance studio, The Company dance studio and Superstars Dance Academy. In 2022, four months after giving birth to her and Domantas’ first child, Shashana announced on Instagram that she would be stepping back from her original passion to be there for her family.
“It’s a wrap on 10 years of owning dance studios. I am so overcome with gratitude to have been able to do what I love for a living all of these years. I wish I could do it forever but I am entering a new chapter where I am a wife and mommy to amazing boys. I really want to enjoy this time with them," Shashana wrote on Instagram. "And as supportive as my husband has always been he’s excited that we will finally get to live together for the first time."
Shashana and Domantas got engaged in September 2020
On Sept. 2, 2020, Domantas shared a photo on Instagram of himself getting down on one knee and proposing to Shashana while on a beach.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world ❤️,” Domantas wrote on Instagram.
Shashana returned the favor with her own Instagram post of their engagement and some meaningful words for her then-future husband.
“I love living life with you. Thank you for being my best friend. Wherever you go, I go. ❤️,” Shashana wrote on Instagram.
Shashana and Domantas got married in 2021
After getting engaged in 2020, Domantas and Shashana tied the knot in August 2021. The wedding featured 150 guests on the French Riviera.
The three-day wedding weekend was planned by notable celebrity event planner Mindy Weiss, who has planned weddings for celebrities including Khloe Kardashian, Russell Wilson and Ciara. The lavish wedding weekend featured dancing, singing, live music and even jet skiing.
Shashana and Domantas share two kids
On Mar. 11, 2022, Domantas and Shashana welcomed their first child together, son Tiger Sabonis. It appears Tiger may already be taking after his father after Shashana posted on Instagram that he had a basketball-themed first birthday party.
“We went balls to the wall for Tigey’s first birthday party! 🏀 (I swear I’m not pushing this on my child, he is just literally obsessed with basketball) 🙃,” Shashana wrote on Instagram.
On July 11, 2023, they welcomed their daughter Eleven “Elle” Rose Sabonis. Shashana shared an Instagram post celebrating Elle’s first birthday with a carousel of pictures from her birthday party including the family surrounded by pink balloons and Elle in a petting zoo with a rabbit.
“ELLE! My baby girl, you have colored my world pink! The sweetest, softest, most beautiful soul. I can’t believe you are ONE. I love living in fairy, sparkle land with you. 🎀🩰🌸,” Shashana wrote on Instagram.
Domantas started converting to Judaism after marrying his wife
Shashana grew up with Judaism as a very important part of her life so she let Domantas know upfront that he would need to embrace her religion to build a life with her. Domontas, for his part, has shown commitment to learning about the religion, like when he handed out Chanukah donuts — jelly donuts called sufganiyot — at a Kings game.
In 2023, Shashana also revealed that Domantas had begun to convert to Judaism.
“We really haven’t talked about it [publicly] ... He loves [Judaism] and really wants to be a part of it,” Shashana told The Jewish News of Northern California. “People that follow me [on social media] see how we do the holidays and Shabbat, and I think it’s really fun for the Jewish community to see that representation in basketball.”
In the same interview, it was revealed that Domantas was working on his conversion process with Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Sherman hosts the Rabbi on the Sidelines sports podcast and has been interviewed on TNT’s Inside the NBA.
“After [he had] a triple-double against the Houston Rockets, I get a text, like, ‘Hey can we find time to learn?’ I’m like, you’re for real,” Sherman told The Jewish News of Northern California. “He’s always asking questions. He keeps kosher, and when he’s in Vilnius, he’s going to the kosher butchers to get chicken."
Shashana loves supporting her husband on the court
Shashana has been around basketball for over a decade since she worked as a Lakers dancer in 2011, so it’s no wonder she loves watching Domantas play for the Kings. In fact, she even likes to make bold predictions, like she did before the Kings faced the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
“[The Kings] are going to win in six games,” she told The Jewish News of Northern California. “We’re a really great team, and everybody is really determined to win.”
The Warriors went on to win that series on the heels of Steph Curry breaking the record for the most points ever scored in a Game 7, but Domantas thrust himself into the national spotlight with his play, earning him a spot on Netflix's Starting 5 cast the following year.