Keegan Murray is back in the Kings’ lineup Sunday against the Heat, giving Sacramento a needed piece after a stretch that’s kept him mostly on the sideline.
Murray has appeared in only two games for the Kings this season while working through left ankle capsulitis. He opened the year in the starting five for the first two games, then missed the next seven. The 26-year-old forward has been dealing with injuries more often lately, logging just 23 games in the 2025/26 season after playing at least 75 games in each of his first three years in the league.
The Kings are also hoping Murray can help jump-start an offense that hasn’t gotten the outside shooting it used to from him. As a rookie, he hit 41.1% of his threes on 6.3 attempts per game, but those numbers have dipped in each straight season since then. Sacramento could use that shot coming back.
With Murray out, Precious Achiuwa has held down the starting power forward job and has put up 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
Sacramento still has another roster decision to make after moving Nique Clifford to the Thunder for two second-round picks. The team needs one more player on a guaranteed contract to reach 14 standard roster spots, and it has 14 days to sort that out.
James Ham reports the Kings plan to use that window to evaluate their options carefully. One name in the mix is Leaky Black, who is on a two-way deal.
The 27-year-old small forward has played five games for the Kings this season, starting one, and has averaged 5.8 points and 1.6 steals in 19.0 minutes per game while shooting 44.4% from three.
Elsewhere in the division, Rui Hachimura has taken on a bigger role for the Clippers and is producing career-best numbers across the board. He’s averaging highs in points (14.7), rebounds (6.5), steals (1.0), free-throw attempts (3.2) and three-point attempts (6.3). Ohm Youngmisuk reports that Ty Lue’s summer trip to Japan helped build that trust, with the coach visiting Hachimura and trying some of his favorite dishes as the two got to know each other better.
“ Without him saying anything [to me], he was trying to be more open with me,” Hachimura said. “ I think that’s one thing about my culture that is different.
We’re not really open with people. We‘re closed off basically.
We don’t really share information. We don’t really talk about emotion, talk about things that you want to do [personally].
That’s the thing that he is trying - to be more open with me. And I’m trying to [do the same.]
”
Hachimura’s role may shift once Brandon Ingram returns, but the relationship he built with Lue should help him adjust.
The Suns, meanwhile, made a lineup change of their own after opening the season 1-5. They sent second-year big man Khaman Maluach back to the bench and put Oso Ighodaro into the starting lineup, and the move paid off in a win over the Magic that ended a four-game losing streak.
“ Just making an adjustment, just to change things up, just to try to figure out how we get 48 minutes of great center play,” head coach Jordan Ott continued. “ And I thought both of them handled it well.
[Maluach] obviously had one of his better games. Yeah, we’ll keep trying to find it.”
In Other News...
Kings Fans Wild Ref Incident Drew Luka Into The Drama
A tense moment in Sacramentos game against the Lakers spilled well beyond the usual back-and-forth on the floor when a Kings fan, Duncan McFetridge, was ejected after throwing a basketball toward a referee. The incident quickly became one of the nights most talked-about scenes, especially once Lakers star Luka Doncic stepped into the moment and confronted McFetridge during the game.
McFetridges wife later confirmed his identity and said he did not mean to hurt the official, adding another layer to a situation that already had plenty of attention. For the Kings, it was the sort of off-court flashpoint that can follow a heated matchup long after the final whistle, with the fan reaction and Doncics involvement ensuring the episode did not stay contained to one possession. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Suddenly Have A Bigger Sabonis Concern Than One Missed Game
Domantas Sabonis is set to miss the Kings upcoming game against the Heat because of left knee soreness, a development that carries a little more weight than a routine absence. Its the same knee that needed surgery last season and cut his previous campaign short, which is enough to make any update on his status feel more significant than a single night off.
Sacramento will have to lean more heavily on other players while Sabonis sits, and that only adds to the pressure in what has already been a difficult season. Even before the matchup with Miami tips, the bigger question is not just how the Kings cover for him in one game, but what this latest knee issue might mean if it lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Kings May Be Headed Back To The Version That Worked Better
The Sacramento Kings spent much of the 2025-26 season trying to hold things together through coaching and front office changes, injuries, and a 22-60 finish that made the year feel like a reset more than a run. In the closing stretch, the rookies got more runway and offered a glimpse of a different kind of roster, one with more energy and a little more room to grow even if the results never followed.
Now the conversation is turning toward 2026-27, and the shape of the roster is starting to look familiar in a way that may not be entirely comfortable. The Kings are leaning mostly on veterans who have not yet clicked as a unit, while some of the younger players and injured rookies are expected back in the mix, giving Sacramento at least a chance to rediscover the version of itself that made more sense on the floor. [Read more 🡒]