The Kings will be without Malik Monk for at least the next month.
After the guard suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and subsequently left Sacramento's 107-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at Golden 1 Center, the Kings provided an official update on his status Saturday.
"Kings guard Malik Monk injured his right knee during the first quarter versus the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 29,” the team said in a statement. “Imaging confirmed Monk suffered an MCL sprain. Monk will be listed as out and will be re-evaluated in four weeks."
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Monk took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his displeasure with the news.
With two weeks remaining in the 2023-24 NBA regular season, Monk likely will miss both the Kings' play-in tournament and first-round playoff series matchups, depending on Sacramento's postseason fate. However, if the Kings were to advance deeper into the playoffs, Monk could return in time for a potential Western Conference semifinal series.
NBA
Monk’s injury is devastating news for the Kings (42-31), who sit eighth in the Western Conference, two games out of a playoff spot with nine to play. Keon Ellis and Davion Mitchell likely will be asked to replace Monk’s minutes, but it will be difficult to replace the production that made him a leading NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate (15.4 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game).