Kings big man Marvin Bagley III will be sidelined at least four weeks with broken hand
Kings forward Marvin Bagley III will be out for at least a month after breaking his hand in Monday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The team provided an update on Bagley’s condition Thursday after a consultation with a hand specialist. The Kings said surgery is not required and the 22-year-old power forward is expected to make a full recovery.
The announcement came as the Kings (16-24) prepared to face the Boston Celtics (20-20) on Friday at TD Garden in Boston. The team said it will update Bagley’s status again in four weeks. At that point, there will be a little over four weeks remaining in the regular season.
Bagley suffered a fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand in a 122-116 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. Prior to Wednesday’s 121-119 victory over the Washington Wizards, Kings coach Luke Walton said the team was still considering treatment options for Bagley.
These types of injuries typically take three to six weeks to heal. In some cases, with more complex fractures, recovery time can take several months. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry missed more than four months last season after fracturing the second metacarpal in his left hand.
Bagley’s latest injury setback further clouds his future and the situation in Sacramento as the March 25 trade deadline draws near. The Kings have already picked up Bagley’s $11.3 million fourth-year option for next season. They can sign him to an extension before the 2021-22 season begins or let him become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.
Bagley has struggled to stay healthy since the Kings selected him out of Duke with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He was limited to 62 games as a rookie and just 13 games last season due to a variety of injuries, but he demonstrated growth while remaining relatively healthy over the first half of the season.
Bagley has averaged 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 37 games this season. He has improved considerably as a 3-point shooter, making 40.5% in January and 38.5% in February.
”We will miss Marvin a lot,” Walton said. “He was making great progress. One of the things we had was we were getting off to pretty good starts consistently throughout the year when we had our starting group there and first quarters were pretty good for us. He gave us size and rebounding that we desperately need, so he will be missed.”
