Zach LaVine is a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion (2015, 2016), an explosive scoring guard and 39% career three-point shooter who starred for Chicago before joining the Sacramento Kings, and an Olympic gold medalist.
Model lines LaVine at 19 pts (range 16.1–21.9) vs a 19 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (50%).
Biggest edge: scheme fit — drop coverage concedes the pull-up/mid-range he likes.
Zach LaVine is the rare high-flyer who can also shoot the lights out.
Drafted 13th in 2014 out of UCLA, he won back-to-back dunk contests in Minnesota before a torn ACL ended his 2017 season.
A trade to Chicago in the Jimmy Butler deal turned him into a primary scorer, two-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist.
A February 2025 three-team trade sent him to Sacramento, where he kept scoring at a 20-point clip with the athleticism and range that define his game.
A rare blend of elite leaping and genuine shooting range, Zach LaVine turned back-to-back dunk titles into a two-time All-Star scoring career.
Zachary Thomas LaVine was born March 10, 1995 in Renton, Washington. After one season at UCLA, Minnesota drafted him 13th overall in 2014, and he made the All-Rookie Second Team while winning the Slam Dunk Contest in both 2015 and 2016.
A torn ACL in 2017 cut his Minnesota tenure short, but a trade to Chicago in the Jimmy Butler deal made him a primary scorer and two-time All-Star in 2021 and 2022, plus an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA.
A February 2025 three-team trade sent him to Sacramento, where he continued as a high-scoring guard — a 20-point career scorer with big-outburst upside.
Sources: Wikipedia, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.
LaVine became engaged to his longtime girlfriend in 2020, and the couple welcomed a son, Saint, in 2022. His public profile centers on his highlight athleticism and scoring.
The two dunk titles — making him the fourth player ever to win consecutively — remain his signature calling card off a career built on explosive leaping.
Explosive, confident and a knockdown shooter, LaVine is a scoring guard who marries above-the-rim flash with real range.
Scoring Package
LaVine pairs elite vertical explosiveness with a genuinely good jumper (career 39% from three), a rare combination that makes him a dangerous three-level scorer capable of big outbursts.
Role & Playmaking
He operates as a primary or secondary scoring guard rather than a lead playmaker, averaging around four assists — best deployed as an offensive engine next to a creator.
Two-Way & Health
Defense and playmaking trail his scoring, and injuries — a 2017 ACL and a 2025-26 hand surgery — have raised durability questions across his career.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 39 | 31.4 | 19.2 | 2.8 | 2.3 | .479 | .390 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
A high-scoring guard recovering from hand surgery.
LaVine picked up his roughly $49M player option for 2026-27 and remains a 20-point scoring guard for Sacramento. A 2025-26 right-hand tendon surgery interrupted his season; his return timeline and the Kings' roster direction shape his outlook.
Contract
A two-time All-Star and dunk champion — an explosive, sharpshooting scorer whose ceiling depends on health.
Twice — 2021 and 2022, both with the Chicago Bulls.
Yes, twice — in 2015 and 2016, making him the fourth player ever to win back-to-back.
Via a three-team trade in February 2025 that also moved De'Aaron Fox to San Antonio.
Yes — he won gold with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.