Trey Lyles is taking his basketball talents to Spain

Apr 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Trey Lyles (41) before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Trey Lyles has been a contributing bench player in the NBA for 10 years now — yes, TEN years; I hate it too — but he made a surprise decision as he takes the next step in his basketball career.

According to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, Lyles has agreed to a deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, which plays in the Euroleague and Liga ACB, considered the top two professional basketball leagues in the world outside of the NBA. Lyles is reportedly signing a one-year, $3.2 million deal with the world-famous franchise, which includes an NBA out clause, according to Grant Afseth.

This news comes as somewhat of a surprise for Lyles, who was expected to land with another NBA team at some point this offseason. The former Kentucky Wildcat is coming off a 3.5-year run with the Sacramento Kings, where he averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per outing off the bench.

The aforementioned NBA out clause in his deal allows him the opportunity to return to the NBA during the 2025-26 season. Both the Kings and the Miami Heat expressed interest in him during the offseason, but no deals ended up being made.

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Trey Lyles is signing with Spanish giants Real Madrid after 10 seasons in the NBA, according to his agent Rich Paul of @KlutchSports.

Yet another established NBA player makes the move to a @EuroLeague power.

More NBA from me: https://t.co/Qq0yk6HkqN
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 4, 2025

Lyles, 29, will bring plenty of experience and versatility to Real Madrid, which finished in first place in the Liga ACB standings last season with a record of 38-5. The 6-foot-9 stretch forward will join a roster that includes familiar NBA names such as Facundo Campazzo, Theo Maledon, Mario Hezonja, Edy Tavares, Chuma Okeke, and Euroleague legend Sergio Llull. Lyles figures to play a prominent role with the franchise in 2025-26.

It certainly doesn’t feel like a decade since Lyles was suiting up for the Wildcats, but Father Time waits for no one. He was a key piece to Kentucky’s 38-1 run in 2014-15 that resulted in the Final Four loss to Wisconsin. As a true freshman, he averaged 8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in 23 minutes per contest, serving as a starter in 21 of 36 games played. Lyles entered the 2015 NBA Draft and was the 12th overall pick by the Utah Jazz.

Lyles played two seasons with Utah (2015-17), two with the Denver Nuggets (2017-19), two more with the San Antonio Spurs (2019-21), and half a season with the Detroit Pistons in 2021-22 before being traded to the Kings. He eventually signed a multi-year deal with Sacramento that kept him out west up until this offseason.

Now, he’ll head over to Europe for the next chapter.