Zach LaVine Has Telling Reaction to Teaming Up With Ben Simmons on Kings

The Sacramento Kings might have low expectations heading into the 2026-27 season, but they have the talent to surprise a lot of people. Of course, their new core of Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis should be impactful this season, but their latest addition, Ben Simmons, could be the ultimate x-factor.

The Kings signed Simmons to a non-guaranteed veteran minimum contract, but there is some obvious excitement about bringing him to Sacramento. At media day, LaVine shared his excitement about teaming up with Simmons this season.

"First off, I'm happy Ben is back and healthy. We all know here the journey he had, obviously, with him being injured and the type of player he was ... a 6'10" point guard that can play one through four, was an All-NBA defender, an All-Star. I'm super excited for him. I've seen him move around just in camp, and he's back looking healthy again and his mind is good. The excitement is there ... I'm excited to play with him."

Zach LaVine talks about the additions to the Sacramento Kings roster at Monday's Media day. Talks about his motivations for the season ahead, looking to remain healthy as opposed to last season and his motivations for the season ahead as the senior member of the team. pic.twitter.com/DGSBOg0ZGZ
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) September 28, 2026

Simmons, 30, is an incredible addition by the Kings. Regardless of his history of health concerns and the fact that he hasn't played an NBA game since the 2024-25 season, the 6-foot-10 point guard is an unbelievable talent. The Kings don't need Simmons to be an All-Star, but if he can get close to playing at that level again, they could shock the league.

What Simmons brings to the Kings

While Simmons will not help arguably the Kings' biggest weakness, three-point shooting, he will aid in practically every other area of the game. His size, athleticism, ball-handling, defense, and playmaking could completely change the outlook of the Kings if he can stay healthy, so it makes sense that LaVine and some of his other new teammates are excited to have him in Sacramento.

Ben Simmons on what he can bring to the Kings and his personal goals:

"To dominate. Every time I step on the floor to dominate" pic.twitter.com/nnFGhQaIdB
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) September 28, 2026

As LaVine mentions, Simmons looks healthy and has his mind right. We heard some noise this offseason about Simmons looking much more like himself and regaining his confidence, and now that he is showcasing it in training camp, we should be getting a bit more excited about the reality of it all.

We will likely see some possessions with both Simmons and LaVine on the floor, and the veteran star talked about how Simmons helps his game.

"A guy like him, the way he gets up and down the floor and passes the ball, it complements my game greatly, so I'm excited," LaVine said about Simmons.

Really, Simmons will make Doug Christie's job easy. The versatile guard can play and defend multiple positions while being a reliable ball-handler to back up and relieve some pressure on star rookie Darius Acuff Jr. The lineups that the Kings will be able to experiment with, especially as they look for answers defensively, will be very intriguing with Simmons in the mix.

If Simmons can continue to turn heads in training camp to prove he is back to being the player he once was, the Kings will realize they might've made the best signing of the offseason.

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