The Sacramento Kings' 2025-2026 season was absolutely upended by an absurd number of injuries. Apparently, that's getting started in the offseason as rookie Alex Karaban recently sustained a right ankle sprain during practice. It's not major, but it's also enough to send a chill up the spine of fans.
Okay, if we're being fair, no one expected much from the Kings last season before the tsunami of injuries rolled the team. They were in a terrible place with a rookie head coach, a new front office, and an impressively imbalanced roster in desperate need of a rebuild. It wasn't a recipe for success.
But the endless barrage of injuries that plagued the roster sure didn't help their situation. It started with Keegan Murray getting hurt in a preseason game and needing surgery that kept him out of action for the first several games of the season. It was downhill from there.
The planned starting lineup never played a single minute together in the regular season. Murray and Domantas Sabonis barely played at all. The only upside to this was that all of these injuries created openings for rookies to develop faster and two-way players to prove they belonged in the NBA.
The Karaban injury is not the start Kings' fans are looking for
On its own, Karaban's ankle injury isn't a big deal. The strain could take some time to heal, but he's due to be reassessed on Thursday, July 9. That's a week after the initial injury. Unfortunately, he'll miss the California Classic and possibly the NBA Summer League, but he should be good for the season.
At the same time, this has to bring up some really sad deja vu among Kings' fans. Last season's endless festival of injuries has probably left a little sensitivity in Sactown. Losing Karaban so early to an injury, even for a short period of time, has to feel like the beginning of a similar pattern.
Hopefully, it's not. If the Kings want to really move forward this season, they're going to need a healthy squad. This is especially true for rookies and sophomores who have to be on the court to develop. No one wants to see the Kings go through another massive round of injuries.
Keeping all of that in mind, it's only one ankle injury, and nothing to overreact to. Again, Karaban should be perfectly fine by the time the regular season starts, if not earlier. And there are no indications of any other health issues the Kings should be worried about. So far.
Add us as a preferred source on Google