It already has been a rough week for the Kings on the injury front, and it’s not getting any better.
Sacramento forward De’Andre Hunter is set to have season-ending surgery on his left eye, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Friday, citing league sources.
Hunter becomes the third Kings player to be ruled out for the rest of the 2025-26 NBA season in recent days, joining Zach LaVine (hand) and Domantas Sabonis (meniscus), who both underwent surgery on Wednesday.
After being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 31 in exchange for Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder, Hunter only played in two games for Sacramento before sustaining his eye injury on Feb. 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was poked in the eye in the third quarter of that matchup and eventually diagnosed with iritis — which Stanford Medicine’s Jeffrey Goldberg, M.D. explained to NBC Sports California last week.
“Iritis actually refers to an inflammation that can occur inside the eye — the iris,” Dr. Goldberg said. “The iris is the colored circle inside our eyes. That tissue inside the eye can get inflamed, and we call that iritis.”
Goldberg also explained that iritis can significantly affect one’s vision in the afflicted eye, which might explain the decision to shut down Hunter for the season, as opposed to the initial 10-day timeframe.
Hunter remains under contract through next season, so Kings fans hopefully will get the chance to see the recent acquisition in the coming fall.