Kings' $96 Million Guard Named Among Most Overpaid Players in NBA

Kings' $96 Million Guard Named Among Most Overpaid Players in NBA originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

After another disappointing season last year that saw them miss the playoffs once again, the Sacramento Kings surprisingly decided to keep their core together this summer and upgrade their roster to chase a playoff spot next season.

For the Kings, they are led by their core of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, which did not work out too well at the end of last season after they acquired LaVine in the De’Aaron Fox trade.

Despite this, the Kings are hoping that their star trio can lead them to the playoffs next season, though the DeRozan and LaVine duo also did not find success with the Chicago Bulls and there is doubt that they will find success in Sacramento even after the Kings’ roster additions this offseason.

Zach LaVine named among NBA's most overpaid players

For LaVine, he was recently named as one of the NBA’s most overpaid players by SB Nations’ Ricky O’Donnell for a key reason.

“LaVine was quietly awesome last season, leading the NBA in three-point percentage among qualified shooters at 44.6 percent from deep. He remains a talented rim finisher as well and is one of the best in the league at combining high-volume scoring with efficiency,” O’Donnell wrote. “So why did no one want LaVine when the Bulls tried to give him away for free? LaVine is a poor defender, he’s never been a high-IQ decision-maker, and his injury history is scary. It would be fun to see what he could do on a good team playing off a real A1 star, but his contract pays him like he is an A1 star, and he’s never been able to carry his team to winning. LaVine is something of a sympathetic figure after spending his whole career on three hopeless franchises, but it makes sense that no one wants a flawed co-star paid like a superstar on their salary sheet.”

While LaVine is a great three-point shooter and can get inside for easy finishes around the rim, O’Donnell did a solid job of pointing out his weaknesses which is a major reason that he ended up on his list.

Of course, the star guard is set to make $94.6 million over the next two seasons and while almost every other team in the NBA elected to not show interest in acquiring him from the Bulls, the Kings took a chance on him with hopes that their new star trio can make them into a contender.

While that may be the case, the Kings have a tough road ahead of them in the Western Conference next season and it would not be a surprise if they are on the outside looking in on the playoffs once again.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.