Kings’ Keegan Murray Faces Shocking Early Setback: Torn Thumb Ligament Threatens Season Start

The Sacramento Kings are heading into the new NBA season with a significant early setback—forward Keegan Murray won’t be hitting the court at tip-off. During Friday’s preseason clash with the Portland Trail Blazers, Murray suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, as confirmed by the team Sunday. His injury demands surgery soon, followed by a waiting period of four to six weeks before the Kings can assess his recovery. This means the Kings could be navigating the start of their season without one of their key contributors, potentially sidelining the 25-year-old until late November. Given Murray’s solid averages last year—12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game—and his importance to the squad’s playoff aspirations, this news complicates Sacramento’s ambitions right out of the gate. With the team opening against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 22, eyes will be on who steps up to fill the void, as Coach Doug Christie experiments with new rotations. The season promises plenty of intrigue and adjustment for the Kings in Murray’s absence. LEARN MORE

The Sacramento Kings will be without forward Keegan Murray to start the season.

Murray suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb during the team’s preseason loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, the team announced on Sunday afternoon. Murray is set to undergo surgery in the near future, and he’ll be evaluated again in four-to-six weeks.

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If Murray is out the full six weeks, he could be eligible to return for the Kings’ matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 24, the team’s 18th game of the season.

Murray averaged 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, his third in the league after the Kings took him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2022. He’s missed just 13 games throughout his career due to injury. The former Iowa standout is entering the final year of his initial four-year, $36.3 million deal with the franchise, and he’s eligible for an extension this month. If Murray and the Kings can’t get a deal done, he’ll enter restricted free agency next summer.

The 25-year-old has been a reliable piece in the Kings’ starting lineup over the past three seasons, and he’ll presumably play a big role in the team’s effort to make it back to the postseason — something they’ve only done once in the past two decades. The Kings went 40-42 last season and ended up firing head coach Mike Brown. The team eventually promoted interim head coach Doug Christie to replace him permanently.

The Kings will open the regular season on Oct. 22 against the Phoenix Suns. It’s unclear who will take Murray’s place in the starting lineup in the meantime, though Christie experimented with rookie Maxime Raynaud at the position on Sunday, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Kings took Raynaud with the No. 42 overall pick in the draft earlier this summer out of Stanford, where he averaged 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

“In our league, two bigs, we’re starting to see quite a bit, so it’s one of the things I think that you’ve got to look at,” Christie said. “Max is a talented player. This is the preseason, so to get him out there and to get him those types of reps is more what that’s about. We’ve got a couple other options over the next couple days that we’ll throw out there.”