The league-worst Sacramento Kings won’t look any better coming out of the midseason hiatus, based on the latest news on Zach LaVine.
LaVine is reportedly scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a right hand injury after the All-Star break. According to NBA reporter Chris Haynes, the procedure will sideline LaVine for the rest of the season.
BREAKING: Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine will undergo season-ending surgery on his right hand after the All-Star break, league sources tell me. He averaged 19.2 points, shot 48 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. pic.twitter.com/uph3thRMSD
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 14, 2026
Losing LaVine won’t help the Kings win any games, but that may be to the team’s benefit.
Sacramento has bottomed out with a league-worst 12-44 record through 56 games. The Kings currently sit a full three games below any of its competitors in the race to the bottom ahead of an NBA draft that projects to have superstar prospects such as Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson available in the top four.
LaVine was in the midst of one of the least productive seasons of his career. Through 39 games, LaVine averaged 19.2 points, his lowest scoring figure in nearly a decade. The 30-year-old also averaged just 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists — both career-worts for the 12-year NBA veteran.
With the Kings hoping to hand the keys to their franchise to a rookie next season, questions remain on what the team plans to do with veterans such as LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis.
The team didn’t move any of them at the trade deadline, but that could change before next season begins. But given the Kings’ track record of making strange moves, who really knows what Sacramento has planned?
