Last season, amid a career season (one that helped him finish second in Sixth Man of the Year voting), Malik Monk suffered an MCL sprain in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks that sidelined him for the remainder of the season -- eventually stalling the Sacramento Kings' attempt at making the postseason for the second time in as many years.
Unfortunately, it looks like history is repeating itself. On Monday, Monk left the team's win against the Detroit Pistons in what was later reported to be a calf injury. Before today, we did not know how serious the injury was. But now we do, and it's not great.
Monk likely to miss the Play-In Tournament for the second straight year
On Wednesday, the Kings were met with the news that Monk would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Usually, when you get this kind of update, it doesn't mean that the player is out for two weeks. It means that in two weeks, they will check on them again, and then maybe, if everything looks good, they can get back on the floor. So, in theory, Monk could be out longer than two weeks.
Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will be re-evaluated in two weeks due to a left calf strain, sources tell ESPN. This timetable sidelines Monk – averaging a career-high 17.2 points – for rest of regular season and Play-In games. pic.twitter.com/v0GG8ugnGN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 9, 2025
For instance, on March 28, it was stated that Jake LaRavia would be re-evaluated in 7-10 days after suffering a thumb injury. Today marks 13 days since that update, and LaRavia is still not back on the court.
In any event, even if Monk only misses two weeks, it will still put him out for the remainder of the regular season and the entirety of the Play-In Tournament (which the Kings have now clinched a spot in).
The Kings already have a tough road ahead of them. Even if they maintain their place in the standings (the ninth seed), they will still need to beat the suddenly interesting Dallas Mavericks before traveling to play the loser of the seven/eight matchup (right now, that would either be the Memphis Grizzlies or Minnesota Timberwolves).
The one glimmer of hope the Kings can hold on to is the off chance that Monk recovers from this calf injury much quicker than expected. We saw this a few weeks ago with Domantas Sabonis. After suffering an ankle sprain, the team announced that he would be re-evaluated in ten days. However, Sabonis ended up back on the court six days later. Fingers crossed that the same can happen with Monk.
Regardless, this is a devastating blow in what has been an otherwise healthy season. According to Spotrac, the Kings have the fewest dollars lost to player injuries. But it looks like the injury bug is coming back to bite them at the worst possible time.