Keegan Murray’s season might be over, giving him an early end to what’s been a terrible 2025-26 campaign for the Sacramento Kings.
The team announced on Friday that Murray will be out for at least two weeks with a “mild” ankle sprain revealed by an MRI and will be re-evaluated after that period. However, with 21 games remaining in the regular season and the Kings carrying the NBA’s worst record at 14-47, it’s worth asking whether or not Murray will eventually be shut down.
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Murray, 25, has slogged through a particularly difficult season, appearing in only 23 games while struggling through calf and back injuries, a torn UCL in his left thumb (sidelining him for 15 games) and a left ankle sprain. That ankle sprain kept Murray out for 20 games until he returned last week.
The fourth-year star made it through three full games before he re-aggravated the injury on Wednesday versus the Houston Rockets. Jumping up to contest a shot by Clint Capela, Murray landed awkwardly on his left leg and subsequently left the game after playing only nine minutes.
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Murray was one of four players who didn’t play in Thursday’s 130-121 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Zach LaVine (torn tendon, finger), Domantas Sabonis (torn meniscus, knee) and De’Andre Hunter (detached retina) have each undergone season-ending surgery. Russell Westbrook is day-to-day with a right thigh contusion and Malik Monk has been dealing with a sore right ankle (though he played versus Dallas).
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In his 23 games, Murray scored 14 points per game, the second-highest average of his career, with 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists. However, his 27% shooting on 3-pointers is the lowest of his four seasons.
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Before winning two of their past three games, the Kings had lost a franchise-record 16 consecutive games. That leaves them with the NBA’s worst record and one of the teams holding the best odds (14%) to win the NBA Draft Lottery, joining the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers.
Murray will presumably be one of the key pieces in a Kings rebuild along with whichever prospect the team selects, under contract through the 2030-31 season after signing a five-year, $140 million contract extension in October.
In an unfortunate bit of timing, Murray’s status was announced a day after his rookie record for 3-pointers in a season was broken by the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel.