LeBron James and JaVale McGee were among the Los Angeles Lakers players who said they had been affected by smoke following their win in Sacramento as devastating wildfires rage in California.

The death toll rose to 25 on Saturday and an estimated 250,000 have fled their homes as blazes spread through the state.

Smoke could be seen above the court at Golden 1 Center ahead of the Lakers' 101-86 NBA win over the Kings on Saturday and James felt it had an impact on him.

"I had a slight headache before the game," said James, who led the way with 25 points for the Lakers.

"And I can't pinpoint any other reason why it was going on besides the smoke. But it went away after the game started. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good rest."

Asthma sufferer McGee said he was also affected.

"My stomach was hurting like I was hungry or something but it was from the smoke for sure," he said.

Kings coach Dave Joerger said: "Not to sound dumb, but this kind of snuck up on everybody.

"From wherever you're coming in from [you notice the smoke]. Today, I immediately started calling our staff: 'How bad is it downtown? What's going on here?' It's just a really sad deal."