De’Andre Hunter sidelined for season after left eye surgery
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Sacramento Kings forward De’Andre Hunter will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a detached retina in his left eye, the team announced.
The procedure was performed Friday afternoon by Dr. M. Ali Khan at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Roseville, California. According to a club statement, the 28-year-old is expected to make a full recovery, and another medical update is scheduled in roughly eight weeks.
Hunter sustained the injury on Feb. 6 during a game against the LA Clippers. Before being placed on the inactive list with left-eye iritis, he had appeared in two games for Sacramento, averaging 7.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 21% from the field.
The 6-foot-8 wing arrived in Sacramento earlier this month as part of a three-team trade that sent guards Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hunter moved from Cleveland to the Kings, while the Chicago Bulls received two second-round picks and Kings forward Dario Saric.
Hunter becomes the third Kings player this week to have season-ending surgery, joining Domantas Sabonis (left knee meniscus repair) and Zach LaVine (right fifth-finger tendon repair). The string of injuries comes amid NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s recent comments that tanking concerns are “worse this year than in recent memory.” Silver said he has already met with all 30 general managers to address the issue.
Sacramento owns the league’s worst record at 12-45. Finishing last would give the Kings a 14% chance of landing the top pick in the 2026 draft, which scouts project to feature a particularly strong class.
Source: ESPN
