Veteran guard Zach LaVine is slated to undergo season-ending surgery on his right hand following the All-Star break, according to a Friday night report from NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes.
LaVine’s season ends as the Kings are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a league-worst 12–44 record at the All-Star break. In 39 appearances during his 12th NBA season, he averaged 19.2 points, 2.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 39% on three-pointers.
He led Sacramento in scoring this season, in front of fellow veterans DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Russell Westbrook. The premature end to LaVine’s season comes a week after the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline where the Kings decided to mostly stand pat, acquiring De'Andre Hunter in exchange for guards Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder.
The veteran trio of LaVine, Sabonis and DeRozan were involved in trade rumors as all three possess large salaries that don’t fit the Kings as the franchise seems poised for a full rebuild. Sacramento likely needed to attach significant draft capital to move off any of its veterans, ultimately keeping the roster mostly in tact at the deadline. LaVine, 30, has a $49 million player option for next season, while Sabonis’s large contract runs through the 2027–28 season. DeRozan, 36, has a $25.7 million salary next season.
Sacramento is in line to receive a high draft pick in the 2026 NBA draft which is headlined by Darryn Peterson of Kansas, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kings’ Zach LaVine to Miss Remainder of Season Due to Hand Injury.
