Sacramento Kings forward De’Andre Hunter underwent season-ending left eye surgery, a team spokesperson said Friday.
Hunter suffered the injury Feb. 6 against the LA Clippers and was diagnosed with a retinal detachment, according to the team. The surgery was performed Friday afternoon by Dr. M. Ali Khan at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Roseville, California.
Hunter is expected to make a full recovery, and an update will be provided in approximately eight weeks, according to the team.
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Hunter, 28, was acquired by the Kings as part of a three-team trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls earlier this month. Sacramento sent guards Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to Cleveland; Hunter went from the Cavs to the Kings; and Chicago received two second-round picks and Sacramento big man Dario Saric.
Hunter appeared in two games for the Kings, averaging 7.5 points and 1.5 rebounds and shooting 21% from the floor before going on the inactive list because of left eye iritis.
Hunter is the third Kings player to undergo season-ending surgery in recent days, following Domantas Sabonis (left knee meniscus repair) and Zach LaVine (right fifth finger tendon repair). The surgeries come after NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed concern over the league’s tanking issue, which he said has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory.”
Silver said he has met with the league’s 30 general managers to discuss the issue.
Sacramento (12-45) has the worst record in the NBA. If the Kings finish with the worst record, they will have a 14% chance of winning the No. 1 spot in the lottery for the 2026 draft, which is considered to have a deep pool of prospects.
