Zach LaVine Brings Elite Skillset to Sacramento Kings

After a week of speculation, the Sacramento Kings pulled off a blockbuster trade, with De'Aaron Fox going to the San Antonio Spurs and the Kings bringing in Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls, among other players and picks being moved in the deal.

While the roster is still imbalanced and the trade will likely be debated for years, this article will focus on Zach LaVine, and remind everyone that he's an incredibly talented basketball player.

LaVine is quietly having one of, if not the best, seasons of his career. What stands out most from his resurgent season is his three-point shooting, as he's hitting at a 44.6% clip from deep on a high volume of 7.3 attempts per game.

Zach LaVine 2024-25 season stats | Will Z.

Sacramento has struggled with their three-point shooting this season, both on getting up enough looks and connecting at a decent clip, as their 36.1 attempts per contest ranks 20th, and 34.5% 24th.

The great part about LaVine is that he's lethal in almost every form from beyond the arc, as shown in the graphic above. He shoots well in the corner (42.3%), above the arc (45.1%), on the catch (43.5%), on pull-ups (44.8%), and a ridiculous 50.5% on wide-open looks.

It's hard to find a single 3-point stat that LaVine doesn't excel in. Pairing him with Domantas Sabonis in the dribble handoff game could generate open look after open look for the athletic sharpshooter.
But LaVine isn't a one-trick pony, as he can also score off the bounce and pass the ball if defenders collapse.

The Kings rank 28th in 3-point accuracy and 23rd in frequency this season. Zach LaVine will add much needed shooting diversity to Doug Christie's offense.

LaVine is shooting above 44% on both catch and shoot and pull-up threes this season! pic.twitter.com/BaemInVK1H
— Sportscasting NBA (@SportcastingNBA) February 3, 2025

One of the biggest knocks on the 29-year-old has always been his health, contract, and defense. LaVine looks healthy this year, and while there's no way of knowing if that will hold true in the future, that can be said for any player going forward.

His contract is a lot to stomach, and there's no real way around that. The best news is that the Kings have a rotational player in Keon Ellis who has one of the best contracts in the NBA, and with Keegan Murray still on his rookie deal, LaVine's contract doesn't completely destroy the Kings financial flexibility.

For his defense, I don't believe he's as bad as he's made out to be on that side of the ball. He isn't nearly as strong as a defender as Fox, but if he can be at least average on the defensive side of the ball, his offense should more than make up for it.

His defensive numbers with the Bulls this season are relatively neutral. He allowed defenders to shoot 1.1% over their season averages on his defended shots and the Bulls' defensive rating improved by just 0.6 when he was off the court. Those numbers give me hope that LaVine can get the job done enough on defense, but time will tell.

Taking the emotion out of the trade and just looking at Zach LaVine as a basketball player makes me excited. He is one of the most talented shooters in the league and should fit nicely in the Kings' offensive system.

While he won't replace De'Aaron Fox, as no one can, he'll bring something new to the roster. Like Fox, he can take over and singlehandedly win a game with his offense, and that's a pretty exciting player to add to any roster.

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