The same season in which Keegan Murray agreed to a five-year, $140-million rookie-scale extension continues to be riddled with injuries. The fourth-year forward landed on his left ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and immediately called for assistance.
Murray went straight to the locker room and was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the night or the following day’s practice.
On Tuesday, the Kings announced that an MRI revealed a moderate left ankle sprain. Murray will be listed as out and will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks.
Tearing the UCL in his left thumb during preseason caused him to miss the first 15 games of the season. Not long after returning, veteran DeMar DeRozan said the Kings are “his team” in reference to the former fourth overall selection.
Here’s the play where Keegan Murray rolled his left ankle after landing on it.
Has some help to the locker room. Kings can’t seem to escape the injury bug this season. pic.twitter.com/46EUEY4Mow
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) January 5, 2026
In the 18 games Murray has played this season, starting in all but his season debut, his tallies have mainly been underwhelming. Averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists is decent, but shooting just 42.9 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from three has been far from ideal.
With a stated goal of being in the Most Improved Player conversation this season, he likely won’t even reach the 65 games played mark to be eligible — not that his play had been up to that standard anyway.
Three to four weeks is roughly 12 to 15 additional games until reevaluation. During his previous absence, Christie tested a few different starting lineups, but Murray’s injury, which came on the night Zach LaVine returned to action, should simplify that process.
LaVine didn’t start in Sunday’s game, but still logged 35 minutes. The safe guess would be slotting him back in the first five alongside DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, Precious Achiuwa, and Maxime Raynaud.
In a low-scoring season full of losses, the Kings (8-28) have placed greater emphasis on developing their young talent. While Murray (25) is a bit older, he’s still early in his NBA career with room to grow.
Defensively, he’s their most versatile defender by a mile and is tasked with guarding everyone from Stephen Curry to Kevin Durant. And even with his notable shooting struggles this season, Sacramento’s already abysmal spacing will be harmed by his absence.
Murray and former all-star Domantas Sabonis have yet to play a game together this season, a trend that will unfortunately continue for some time.
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The 2025-26 Sacramento Kings can’t escape the injury bug. Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray have yet to play a game together as they sit 8-28 nearly halfway through the season.
Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks marked Zach LaVine’s return, but unfortunately it also saw Murray and guard Keon Ellis go down.
Murray did not participate in their team practice the following day after coming down on his left ankle in the game.
Ellis, however, was active and explained his thumb injury to the media in attendance on Monday.
“(Kyle) Kuzma ran into me, they called a foul, I didn’t feel anything, and then we challenged. I walked off, DeMar high-fived me… that’s when I realized it started hurting,” Ellis said. “I tried to tape it and come back out, but it was still hurting to try and shoot.”
Read More:
Keon Ellis provides update on injury, status for upcoming games
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Tuesday, January 6th – vs. Dallas Mavericks – 6:00 PM PT
Friday, January 9th – @ Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 11th – vs. Houston Rockets – 6:00 PM PT
Monday, January 12th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, January 14th – vs. New York Knicks – 7:00 PM PT
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