Skal Labissiere returns to NBA, signs deal with Sacramento Kings

Out of the league since 2020, former Kentucky forward Skal Labissiere is back in the NBA ahead of the 2023-24 season. And he’s returning to the place he called home to open his professional career.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound big out of Port-au-Prince, Haiti has agreed to a partially guaranteed one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent told Shams Charania of The Athletic. It’s the same franchise that selected him in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Skal Labissiere has agreed to a partially guaranteed one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management told @TheAthletic @Stadium. Labissiere returns to franchise that selected him in first round in 2016 and where he played for 3 years.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 21, 2023

A long road back to the NBA

Labissiere spent three seasons in Sacramento, averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.5 minutes per contest across 106 games with 40 starts. His best season came as a rookie in 2016-17, putting up a career-best 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 33 games with 12 starts.

He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018-19, ultimately averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest in 42 games with the franchise. And then came another trade in February 2020, Portland trading the former Wildcat to the Atlanta Hawks — a short stint that included zero games played.

After entering free agency that summer, Labissiere ultimately wound up signing with the New York Knicks in December 2020. Waived just two days later, he then joined the franchise’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, and played nine games to close out the season.

His journey would then extend outside the United States, signing with Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico in March 2022. After a year with the franchise, he was later acquired by the Mexico City Capitanes of the G League in March 2023 before signing with Grises de Humacao of the BSL just a month later.

Needless to say, Labissiere’s professional basketball path has been a wild one. But it’s gotten him back to the NBA, returning to where it all started in Sacramento.

Labissiere’s time at Kentucky

The former Wildcat’s pro journey has been just as interesting as his time in Lexington. Signing with Kentucky in the 2015 recruiting class, Labissiere was seen as a potential No. 1 draft pick, drawing comparisons to Anthony Davis. He was long, athletic and versatile, an elite shot blocker with a smooth face-up game.

Those flashes were seen on occasion as a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week. Overall, though, inconsistency was the story of his one-year stint as a Wildcat. The former five-star would average 6.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 51.6% overall.

Despite mixed grades, he would ultimately bet on himself and declare for the 2016 NBA Draft. It was a bet that paid off, selected No. 28 overall in the first round and starting a solid career with the Kings.

How will the former Wildcat’s second stint in Sacramento go?