Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter discusses ‘worst year as a pro’ and injury recovery

One word came to define the 2023-24 NBA season for Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter, who endured all sorts of struggles before suffering a season-ending injury.

“Frustrating is definitely the word,” Huerter said. “Even before the injury, just a lot of ups and downs — a lot more downs, I think, than previous years.”

Huerter spoke openly about the difficulties he faced during the most trying season of his career when he addressed the media at Golden 1 Center on Monday. His starting job seemed to be in jeopardy from the time training camp began. He got benched in late December, reclaimed his spot in the starting lineup 10 days later but continued to wrestle with inconsistency before suffering a torn labrum in March.

Huerter missed the last 15 games of the regular season and two play-in games after undergoing surgery to repair his left shoulder. He was still wearing a sling three days after Sacramento’s season ended with a 105-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in a play-in elimination game.

Huerter, who has two years remaining on a four-year, $65 million contract, expects to make a full recovery before the start of the 2024-25 season.

“I should still have about four more weeks in this sling,” Huerter said. “They said 12 weeks out from surgery was (when he can) start shooting, doing on-court stuff. I’m already kind of ahead of schedule a little bit, so we’re hoping August is contact. Should be on pace for training camp in September.”

Huerter came out of Maryland as the No. 19 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He spent five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before the Kings acquired him in a trade in the summer of 2022. He quickly became a fan favorite in his first season in Sacramento, averaging a career-high 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting career bests of 48.5% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range.

Huerter was a huge part of Sacramento’s success as the Kings led the league in scoring, set a record with the highest offensive rating in NBA history and finished third in the Western Conference to end a 16-year playoff drought. Huerter’s shooting helped the Kings create the floor spacing needed for the All-NBA duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to orchestrate an offense that scored 120.7 points per game, the highest average since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets.

Huerter’s second season in Sacramento was a different story with his scoring and efficiency dropping dramatically. He averaged 10.2 points — the lowest mark since his rookie year — while shooting a career-low 36.1% from 3-point range.

“I probably had my best year as a pro last year and then this was probably my worst year as a pro this year, so I think in a lot of ways they balance out,” Huerter said. “And if you look at it that way, hey, next year we should be back. 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 the offseason, and next year I’m thinking about it really positively and thinking I’ll be back.”

Huerter was seemingly singled out more than any other player when the season began with coach Mike Brown demanding more physicality and better defense. The effort from Huerter was there even if the results didn’t always show it.

Keon Ellis’ addition to the starting lineup following Huerter’s injury helped the Kings jump from No. 24 in defensive rating in 2022-23 to No. 14 this season, but their offensive rating fell from No. 1 to No. 13. Some players admitted the extra exertion on defense might have led to weary legs at times when shooting the ball on offense, but Huerter knows he will have to be good at both ends of the floor.

“I don’t think you should have to sacrifice one for the other,” Huerter said. “I think the best players in this league and the best teams can do both. I think our team is capable of doing both. I think me, as a player, I’m definitely capable of doing both. I don’t think you should have to sacrifice one.”

Huerter shot the ball well at times, but his numbers fluctuated throughout the season with wild swings in his scoring average, field-goal percentage and 3-point shooting.

November: 14.3 ppg, 47.3% FG, 39.6% 3FG

December: 7.6 ppg, 40.4% FG, 31.6% 3FG

January: 11.9 ppg, 49.2% FG, 39% 3FG

February: 11.5 ppg, 47.7% FG, 39.4% 3FG

March: 4.9 ppg, 32.7% FG, 25% 3FG

“I’ll just go back to the word frustrating,” Huerter said. “A lot of stuff happened behind the scenes, conversations, trying to understand the rhyme, the reason for what we’re doing, what the coaches are thinking, what the players are thinking, trying to get on the same page. I think that was something we just kind of went through in cycles over the whole course of the year. It really felt like I was just going in cycles. I’d play well for a couple weeks and then I’d lose it for a week or two and then I’d come back and play well.

“It’s not how I want to play, not how you guys want to watch us play, so (I’m) just continuing to try to find consistency. Consistency with how I can fit in with this group, this offense, the other players we have on our team and what the coaching staff wants, trying to figure out exactly what they’re looking for me to do on a nightly basis, and trying to limit those downs as much as you can.”