Sacramento Kings star’s season might be over due to injury. Now what?
For the second year in a row, Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will be sidelined due to injury as his team tries to secure a spot in the NBA playoffs.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee Monk will miss the rest of the regular season and the play-in tournament after suffering a left calf strain in Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons. He will be reevaluated in two weeks, meaning he could return during the first round of the playoffs if the Kings advance that far.
The news broke as the Kings were preparing to play the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“It’s super unfortunate because we depend on him a lot,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “In many ways, he is the leader of the team, definitely on the emotional side. A lot of the energy, the things that go on in the locker room, practice. He’s the head of the snake in many ways. He’ll still be around, obviously, but two weeks is two weeks and we need him. We need Malik’s energy, his shooting, his athleticism.”
Monk is averaging career highs of 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He has started 45 of the 65 games he has played this season, but he has been coming off the bench in recent weeks after Keon Ellis moved into the starting lineup.
“The one thing when I think about Malik is you have the ability to play with anybody because he can do so many things,” Christie said. “He has the ability to play in the pick-and-roll and hit the pocket. He can spray it to the corner. He can knock down the 3. He can knock down the deep 3. He can play above the rim. He can finish with both hands. He’s got a midrange game. He knocks down free throws at a high clip. It’s just his ability to process all that when he’s out there, so he is desperately and deeply going to be missed.”
Monk missed the last nine games of the 2023-24 regular season and two play-in games due to a right MCL sprain. The Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the play-in tournament before losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in a game that would have sent them to the playoffs as the No.
The Kings finalized a deal with free agent guard Terence Davis on Wednesday, bringing back a member of the original Beam Team. Davis averaged 6.7 points for the Kings in 2022-23, helping Sacramento end the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
Davis has not played in the NBA since appearing in four games during Sacramento’s first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors in April 2023. He averaged 14.3 points while shooting 40.2% from 3-point range for the G League Wisconsin Herd this season.
“I think TD brings a high-level shooter, brings some energy, obviously athleticism,” Christie said. “He does know the system pretty much. We do some different things than when he was here, but nothing as a basketball player that he won’t understand and know how to pick up. So, yeah, shoot the ball if you’re open. He’s a spacer. He can knock down shots.”
