The Sacramento Kings provided an update on Keegan Murray’s injury Sunday as the team reconvened at its practice facility following a preseason loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The news was not good.
An MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in Murray’s left thumb. The 25-year-old forward will undergo surgery and is expected to be reevaluated in four to six weeks.
Murray has emerged as one of the team’s best defenders since coming out of Iowa as the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA draft. He scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and two steals in the first half against the Blazers. The team later announced Murray would not return for the second half due to the thumb injury.
Kings coach Doug Christie experimented with rookie second-round draft pick Maxime Raynaud at the power forward position during Sunday’s practice. Raynaud would add size to Sacramento’s starting lineup with Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis.
Christie said he will look at other possibilities as the Kings prepare to play their third preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Raynaud, Dario Saric or Isaac Jones would provide size. Keon Ellis or rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford would offer a different look if the Kings choose to go small.
“The next few days we’re going to try a couple different things, get a look at a couple different things, before we dive into it,” Christie said. “Then, even with that being said, we have two preseason games left. We’ve still got some time, and then after that we have practice days, so I wouldn’t read into anything that you see, but we’ve got to experiment and see different combinations of guys. ... There’s smaller size, there’s bigger size, there’s defense, there’s rebounding, and we’ll see where we’re at when it’s all said and done.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 1:47 PM.