Ben Simmons’ latest shot at a comeback with the Kings may be gone before it even begins.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Simmons potentially suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice, a blow that would likely keep him out for the entire season. If that’s the case, it wipes out not only Simmons’ return to the NBA but also whatever plans Sacramento had for him in 2026-2027, and it all comes before the season opener.
Simmons signed with the Kings last month to make his NBA return, a move that drew plenty of attention given how much time injury problems have already taken from his career. He has missed a full season three different times, not counting other stretches lost to injury issues.
The expectation when Sacramento added him was that he would back up Darius Acuff Jr. Instead, head coach Doug Christie inserted him at power forward. Simmons’ most meaningful action came in the final preseason game, where he played well.
That now seems beside the point. Charania said Simmons suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear on Sunday, October 18, with the regular season set to begin just three days later on Wednesday, October 21. For Simmons and the Kings, it’s a brutal turn, even if it doesn’t come as a shock.
The injury throws another wrench into a Kings roster that was already dealing with problems. Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, and Malik Monk were already working through injuries, and Sacramento now faces the possibility of opening the season without Simmons as well. The team has one main roster spot open beyond that, and if all of those players remain out, the Kings would be down five bodies on day one.
That would leave two-way players Leaky Black, Jonathan Mogbo, and Adam Flagler in line for bigger minutes until reinforcements arrive. But that plan only covers the short term, and it doesn’t help Simmons at all. If Charania’s report holds, Simmons won’t play an NBA game during 2026-2027.
It’s a painful outcome for a player who badly needed a clean return and for a team that could have used his presence. Instead, Simmons is staring at another lost season, and the Kings have to keep pushing their rebuild without him in the picture.
In Other News...
Doug Christie Is Quickly Becoming A Serious Kings Problem
Doug Christie inherited a messy situation when he took over as Kings head coach in 2024 after Mike Brown was fired, and his first full season did not exactly offer much breathing room. Sacramento was dealing with a poorly balanced roster and a run of injuries, and even with some roster improvement since then, the early signs around this preseason have not been encouraging for a team trying to stabilize itself.
Christies approach has also reportedly rubbed some players the wrong way, adding another layer to a job that already looked fragile from the outside. Now there is growing speculation that he may not be the coach by the end of the current season, which leaves the Kings facing a familiar question: whether they can find any real traction before the season slips further out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Enter Opening Night With One New Concern Up Front
The Kings trimmed their roster to get to opening night, waiving Viktor Lakhin, Tristen Newton and Elfrid Payton as they finalized the group that will start the 2026-27 season. Sacramento will carry 17 players into the opener against the L.A. Clippers, a standard enough move at this point in the calendar, but one that also leaves the frontcourt picture a little more fragile than the team would like heading into the first week.
The bigger concern is Maxime Raynaud, who suffered a right patellar subluxation and will be reevaluated in about two weeks. For a team already sorting out its opening-night rotation, any setback up front matters, especially with the season about to begin and the margin for early lineup stability already looking thinner than the Kings probably hoped. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Monks Kings Role Suddenly Feels Far Less Clear
Malik Monks place in Sacramento suddenly feels more uncertain than it did just a few months ago. He has not appeared in the Kings preseason games, with ankle soreness cited as the reason, and that absence comes against the backdrop of a summer in which the team reportedly tried to move him in both the 2025 offseason and during the regular season but could not find a deal.
Monks limited playing time has only added to the questions, especially because there has been no official explanation beyond the soreness. For a Kings team still sorting out its rotation and direction, the situation leaves Monk in a familiar but uncomfortable spot, with speculation about his future lingering even as the preseason moves on. [Read more 🡒]