Taking a look at the player profile for Sacramento Kings forward DeAndre Hunter.
The Sacramento Kings have several solid veterans on this team at the start of training camp and heading into the 2026 season, and they each could have a key role, but specifically, I want to focus on forward DeAndre Hunter.
With that said, let's take a look at where Hunter went to college, his NBA career thus far, and how he could impact the Kings in 2026.
Starting with Hunter's college career, he played for the Virginia Cavaliers for two seasons, which were 2017 and 2018, and he was a great defender and did a solid job on the offensive end as well.
One interesting fact about Hunter's time with Virginia is that he and the Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament when they lost to UMBC in the first round of the 2017 tournament. However, Hunter and the Cavaliers responded as they won the national championship in 2018 when they defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
As far as Hunter's college averages go, he was solid as he averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game, showing his ability to be reliable on both ends of the floor.
When it coms to efficiency, Hunter was solid on that front as well as he shot 50.9 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from three, and 77.3 percent from the free-throw line which were great shooting splits and demonstrated his skill set to score from all over the floor.
Following a successful collegiate career at Virginia, he declared for the 2019 NBA Draft where he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round with the No. 4 overall pick before his draft rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night in a trade involving a lot of moving pieces.
As a result of that trade, Hunter started his career with the Hawks and played there from 2019 through the first half of the 2024 season when he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline.
Hunter played in Cleveland for the remainder of that 2024 season and the first half of the 2025 season before being traded to the Kings at the trade deadline.
Following the trade from the Cavaliers to the Kings, Hunter only played two games for Sacramento in 2025 as he had an eye injury that required season-ending surgery. In those two games, Hunter did struggle as he averaged 7.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, zero blocks, and zero steals while shooting 21.1 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three, and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.
While Hunter did have his struggles with the Kings in 2025, having a full offseason to get healthy and build chemistry should help him a lot and have him ready to go to start the 2026 season.
Even though Hunter has been traded a total of three times throughout his NBA career thus far, he has been pretty consistent, as he has averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game. Overall, Hunter has been very reliable on both ends of the floor, and with his 6-7, 221-pound frame, he has really shone on defense as a great perimeter defender.
Now, looking at Hunter's shooting splits, those have been great as well, as he is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three, and 82.5 percent from the free-throw line. With these splits in mind, Hunter has shown in his NBA career that he can score from all levels of the floor quite efficiently.
When it comes to what Hunter will bring for the Kings, it is reliable scoring, solid rebounding, and great perimeter defense which are all things that this Sacramento team could benefit from as they aim to improve on their 22-60 record from the 2025 season.
So, heading into 2026, it will be interesting to see if Hunter can stay healthy and lean on his strengths of scoring, rebounding, and perimeter defense, because if he can, he could make a significant impact for the Kings in 2026.
