Newly acquired Sacramento Kings guard, Zach LaVine, scored 42 points in Monday's matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, finally breaking out and demonstrating how explosive he can be.

LaVine, who was acquired at the trade deadline in the De'Aaron Fox trade, started off his Kings tenure a bit slowly, but his 42-point performance is a great jumping-off point.

For a few years now, LaVine has been routinely underrated. After he signed a new contract, worth $215 million, the league at large saw his value as negative, which led to Chicago not even being able to establish a market for him.

That always seemed like a grotesque overreaction by teams around the league given LaVine's high efficiency, and overall scoring prowess.

The shooting guard, who’s made two All-Star teams, averaged over 24 points during his eight years in Chicago, while sporting a true-shooting percentage of 59.6%, which is significant step above league average.

While LaVine's defense isn't necessarily great, his offensive versatility was always impressive, especially when you factor in, that he was always miscast as a number one option, when he would have been much better suited as a secondary option, and in a role of play finisher.

Most players who are over taxed in the responsibility department usually see their efficiency crumble, but LaVine upheld his, to a point where he was even one of the league's best.

It's still early, but LaVine is building some intriguing chemistry with Domantas Sabonis, especially in the pick and roll.

Sabonis, one of the strongest players in the league, and a mean screen-setter, allows for LaVine to gain even more separation from his defender, which allows for open shots, and more open drives towards the basket.

As they get more comfortable with each other, expect dribble-hand-off situations between the duo to increase in volume. Sabonis is one of the league's best passers, and LaVine one of the most deadly off-ball scorers. When they figure out the timing and spacing of each other's moves, Sacramento's offense should see a bump in effectiveness.

LaVine has never played with anyone who's as good a playmaker as Sabonis, which is an interesting subplot to the acquisition. If Sabonis allows LaVine to channel his off-ball game more than before, and thus provides him with more quality looks, there's a chance LaVine could see his entire game open up.

One potential challenge within that thought is the presence of DeMar DeRozan, who played alongside LaVine for three years in Chicago. The duo reunited after just a few months away from each other, but the fit was always a bit wonky in Chicago under head coach Billy Donovan, due to DeRozan's on-ball time, where he slowly gets into his own sets.

Fortunately, the Kings have gotten DeRozan to take more three-pointers, which could go a long way in optimizing floor spacing.

We’ll see how it all plays out in Sacramento, but LaVine’s explosion against the Hornets at least provided an insight into how dynamic he can be in the Kings setting.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.