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The Sacramento Kings had a busy NBA trade deadline, trading for Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls while trading De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team trade. The Kings have gone 4-4 since acquiring LaVine, but had their best win of that stretch on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets. Zach LaVine made NBA history against the Hornets after dropping a season-high 42 points.
With his 42-point game, Zach LaVine became the first player in NBA history to drop multiple 40-point games while have a 100 percent true shooting percentage, as per StatMamba. True shooting percentage is an advanced metric that encompasses field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage into one.
LaVine’s actual shooting percentage against the Hornets was 84.2 percent (16-of-19 from the field). He shot 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from the three-point line and 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) from the free-throw line.
This was LaVine’s best game since joining the Kings. He also finished with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. When the Kings traded for LaVine, they paired him up again with DeMar DeRozan whom he played with on the Bulls. Both players have Southern California ties as well with LaVine having gone to UCLA and DeRozan going to rival USC.
Zach LaVine joins Kings
In recent seasons, LaVine has been one player who has seen his name on the trading block seemingly each deadline. And now, the Bulls finally decided to pull the trigger. After DeRozan left via a sign-and-trade in the offseason, and LaVine now gone, it would appear that the best move forward for the Bulls is a rebuild.
LaVine will now try and help the Kings reach the postseason after missing the playoffs last year. The Kings are currently 29-28 and 10th place in the Western Conference standings. That would be a spot in the play-in, but they’re only two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns.
A two-time All-Star, LaVine has appeared in eight games for the Kings so far, at just about 36 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 23.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 48.9 percent shooting from the field, 35.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 91.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Earlier this season, LaVine had been playing some of his best basketball, statistically, with the Bulls. He was shooting a career-high 51.1 percent from the field and a career-high 44.6 percent from the three-point line.
LaVine has only reached the playoffs once in his career, the 2021-22 season.
