Kings big man out at least three to four weeks with meniscus tear

Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee and will be sidelined for at least three to four weeks, which is when he’ll be reexamined, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater.

The Kings formally confirmed the news in a press release. According to the team, Sabonis experienced knee soreness after Sunday’s game in San Antonio and subsequently underwent an MRI, which revealed a meniscus tear.

It’s brutal timing for the Kings, who got starting forward Keegan Murray back on Thursday after he missed the first 15 games of the season following thumb surgery.

Domantas Sabonis dealing with multiple injuries amid Kings' poor season

As Slater observes, Sabonis has dealt with multiple injuries this fall, having previously missed three games due to hamstring and rib issues. The three-time All-Star was sidelined for Wednesday’s loss in Oklahoma City as well.

The 3-13 Kings are in a tailspin, having lost eight straight games for the first time since 2021-22, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. All eight losses have come by double digits, Slater notes.

Despite another loss on Wednesday, head coach Doug Christie came away encouraged by the Kings’ effort level, according to Anderson.

“The level of compete the guys brought I thought was really, really high level,” Christie said. “That’s what we need to get ourselves out of where we’re at, and if we do that on a night-to-night basis, most nights in the NBA you give yourselves a chance to win. This was the world champs and there were eight, nine minutes left, and they found themselves right there.”

With Sabonis out for at least 10 games, Precious Achiuwa, Drew Eubanks and Maxime Raynaud are among the frontcourt members who could have expanded roles for Sacramento.