Kevin Huerter & Trey Lyles cleared to play in Kings season opener

Reinforcements have arrived for the Sacramento Kings, as guard Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and forward Trey Lyles (groin) have been cleared to play in Thursday’s season-opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center.

It’s been a lengthy road to recovery for Huerter, who has been rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after suffering the injury in late March against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Huerter, who missed all five of Sacramento’s preseason games, was cleared–along with teammate Trey Lyles (groin)–to suit up and play on Thursday night as the Kings begin the 2024-25 season against the Timberwolves.

Sacramento head coach Mike Brown has hinted that Huerter, who has spent the majority of his NBA career in a starting role (350 of 413 games), will likely be slotted into the starting five along with De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis.

The veteran sharpshooter could be an ideal addition to a starting unit that already features plenty of firepower on the offensive end.

“I’ll be in [on Thursday],” Huerter told the media following Wednesday’s practice. “I feel good. Got a lot of good practice days in for the past couple of weeks. Really good treatment by our medical staff, the whole time keeping the surgeon in the loop, the front office has been great. We all feel like we’re in a good spot. The next step in my progression is to continue to play on it.”

More on Kings guard Kevin Huerter

It was a tough season for Kevin Huerter in 2023-24 after posting career-highs across the board in 2022-23.

Huerter, who averaged 15.2 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from three during the Kings’ impressive 2022-23 campaign, finished the year averaging 10.2 points–his lowest per-game average since his rookie season in 2018-19– on 44/36/76 shooting splits.

“I probably had my best year as a pro last year, so then this was probably my worst year as a pro this year,” Huerter said of his rough season during his end-of-year press conference in April. “So, I think in a lot of ways, they balance out, and if you look at it like that, hey, next year, we should be back,” Huerter said with a smile.

“You know, I’m optimistic about getting through this summer, through this injury. I’ll be in the weight room a lot, which I think is always fun going into an offseason. Next year, I think I’m looking at it really positively and think it will all be back.”

Now, Huerter has the green light to rejoin his teammates and attempt to turn the page on a rough 2023-24 season.

If Sacramento can get the 2022-23 version of Huerter (15.2 points per game on 40% shooting from deep), the Kings will be even harder to slow down on the offensive end this season.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The 2024-25 NBA regular season has arrived!

Sacramento will tip-off the new season on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Be sure to catch all of the action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PDT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 7:00 PM PDT from downtown Sacramento.

Sacramento Kings 2024-25 Schedule

Regular Season

• Thursday, October 24th – vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7 pm PDT
• Saturday, October 26th – @ Los Angeles Lakers – 7:30 pm PDT
• Monday, October 28th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7 pm PDT
• Tuesday, October 29th – @ Utah Jazz – 6 pm PDT
• Friday, November 1st – @ Atlanta Hawks – 4 pm PDT

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