The Sacramento Kings got more bad news when Domantas Sabonis was injured in a 109-91 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in a preseason game Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis left the game with 5:40 to play in the third quarter and did not return. The Kings later announced Sabonis had been ruled out due to a right hamstring injury.
Kings coach Doug Christie did not have any additional information following the game.
“I’m sure we’ll be updated, but no update as of now,” Christie said.
Sabonis posted 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 14 rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes before leaving the game.
The Kings will await word on the severity of Sabonis’ injury as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason finale on Friday at Crypto.com Arena. They have less than a week before the visit the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday’s season opener.
An extended absence would be another crippling blow for a team that is already missing Keegan Murray, who is expected to miss at least four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his left thumb.
“Listen, your star player goes down, you never want to see that, period,” Christie said. “I can’t speculate on what it is. Hopefully it’s nothing. We have some time before the first game, but those are the things you just don’t want to see. It’s part of our game. As unfortunate as it is, it’s just part of our game.”
Sabonis is a three-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Third Team selection who orchestrates much of Sacramento’s offense from the center position. He averaged 19.1 points, 13.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists last season while shooting a career-high 41.7% from 3-point range.
Kings guard Zach LaVine said he was going to check on Sabonis after learning of the injury during his postgame press conference.
“I don’t know what’s the severity of anything,” LaVine said. “I just heard it from you. Obviously, I hope he’s OK. You don’t want to see that.”