Are We All Undervaluing This Sacramento Kings All-Star?

The Sacramento Kings may not be great next season, but they have a former All-Star who often gets overlooked in the NBA landscape.

Feb 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) and forward DeMar DeRozan (10) and forward Keegan Murray (13) walk up the court during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have a lot of questions heading into next season. Mainly around how they will navigate their overabundance of shooting guards, but also about who will be on the team long term now that Scott Perry has taken over the team.

One of those guards is Zach LaVine, who is arguably the best of the bunch out of LaVine, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and Devin Carter. While some fans are urging for Ellis to start, LaVine will likely get the nod at the starting two-guard spot once the season gets underway.

That's likely due to him making $47.5 million next season, which everyone will be quick to point out, but it's also because at the end of the day, LaVine can straight up score the ball.

Last season, LaVine averaged 23.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 51.1% shooting from the field and 44.6% shooting from three. He may not bring much in terms of defense, and doesn't stand out as a passer or rebounder, but LaVine is one of the best shooters in the league.

And in a league that values the three-point shot now more than ever, that's not a skill to take for granted going into the 2025-26 season, especially with first-year head coach Doug Christie repeatedly saying he wanted the team to take upwards of 50 threes per game last season while he was the interim head coach.

What stands out about LaVine is that he is able to keep his efficiency up from beyond the arc, even on high volume. His 44.6% shooting from three came on a great 7.7 attempts from deep per game.

According to Stathead, he's just the third player in league history to shoot at least seven threes per game at a 44.6% clip or better. The only other two players to do so were Duncan Robinson in 2019-20 when he shot 44.6% on 7.2 shots per game.

Feb 6, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA;Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) shoots a jump shot the ball during the first half against Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The other is the greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry, who did it in both 2012-13 and 2015-16. That's pretty great company for LaVine to be in, but even after a nearly historic shooting year, he still has the same rhetoric around his name.

People still point out his contract, injury history, and defense, while mostly ignoring his elite skillset. When looking at the Kings and how their roster is made up, it makes sense that everyone is so skeptical.

No one expects Sacramento to do much in the loaded Western Conference next season, but LaVine is the type of scorer who can single-handedly carry a team for a handful of games.

The issue that the Kings are facing is that LaVine takes a very specific team around him to succeed. One filled with defensive-minded players, and possibly even another high-level scorer to lead the way. Sacramento has DeMar DeRozan, who can be that other scorer, but the Kings don't have the wing depth and defensive prowess to support LaVine (among others on the team) fully.

But either way, it feels like LaVine is being underappreciated going into the 2025-26 season. It would take a lot for the Kings to make a surprising jump in the West, but one of the clearest paths to that success is LaVine going nuclear for a whole season from three, which he's shown he's more than capable of doing. It's unlikely, but it's possible, and crazier things happen in the NBA all the time.