After trading for De'Andre Hunter before the deadline, the Sacramento Kings almost immediately lost him to an eye injury. Now, Hunter is going to be out of action through the All-Star break, and his injury will be re-evaluated in 10 days. It's not great, but it also could have been much, much worse.
De’Andre Hunter medical update. He’ll be out until after the All-Star break at a minimum with an eye injury: pic.twitter.com/3KLHauFIr5
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) February 8, 2026
During the course of the King's game against the Clippers on February 6th, Kobe Sanders accidentally smacked Hunter in the face. He caught De'Andre in the left eye with a finger, causing an injury bad enough that he had to be helped off the court by the trainers.
Since then, Hunter has been diagnosed with iritis. That is an inflammation to the iris can cause severe pain, light sensitivity, and redness. It can also result in blurred vision, which is a pretty big problem for a basketball player. The Kings haven't specified what symptoms Hunter is experiencing.
It was actually a painful moment to watch during the game. Keeping in mind this was accidental contact, it was still a stiff hit. Hunter was on the ground for a while with a trickle of blood from his eye. Losing him for ten days is bad, but this could have been a much worse situation.
Hunter and the Kings avoided the worst case scenarios
Sacramento has been dealing with a huge number of injuries this season, some of which have kept players like Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis out for months. Losing De'Andre Hunter for only ten more days, particularly over the break, is actually a better scenario than what it could have been.
This is an eye injury, and the fact that more damage wasn't done is a minor miracle. The trauma Hunter is currently dealing with is more than bad enough. He's honestly lucky it wasn't worse, and it isn't likely to cause permanent damage. That's not something anyone wants for him.
Based on the timeline, Hunter's injury will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, and hopefully he'll be ready to go. At the same time, it's not the end of the world if he isn't. He had only played a game and a half with the Kings before the injury, so it's not like he was deeply ingrained in their system.
De'Andre Hunter won't be gone for too long and will heal up relatively quickly. It would be nice to get him into a groove with the rest of the Kings. Given that they are still early in the rebuilding process, now is the time to help Hunter find his spot on the team.