Ben Simmons has torn his right Achilles tendon and will have surgery, the Sacramento Kings announced in a press release on Sunday, Oct. 18. Hoops Rumors cited Marc Stein for the confirmation. The injury happened in the team's practice. Hoops Rumors said his timetable was not disclosed but that he will "almost certainly" miss the entire 2026/27 season. Yahoo's early reports said only that he was "believed" to have torn the tendon. The team's release settled that.
The outlets differ on how final the season-ending call is. ESPN called the injury "likely season-ending" for the 30-year-old, and CBS Sports said he was "likely to miss" the season. Yahoo described the injury as "reportedly suspected to be season-ending" in one item and said flatly that he "will miss entire season" in another. The Kings have not given a return date, according to the reporting we have.
The timing is hard on Simmons. CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno noted that he did not play in 2025-26 and was expected to start for Sacramento this year. ESPN said he had an impressive training camp on short notice. Yahoo reported that the preseason buzz out of Sacramento about his comeback had been positive. Yahoo also described him as recently signed.
Our archive shows what the Kings are losing. His most recent season of data is 2025, when he played 51 games for the Clippers. He averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 1,120 minutes and shot 52.0% from the field. He made no three-pointers. The scoring is far below his Philadelphia years, when he averaged 16.9 points and 8.8 rebounds over 79 games in 2019. The passing and rebounding were still there, and his assists are the part of that line the Kings will have to replace.
The Kings are 0-5 in the games we have logged this month, and their last three losses are in a row. They lost 111-106 at Golden State on Oct. 10. They lost 110-98 to Portland at home on Oct. 13. Then they lost 126-97 at San Antonio on Friday. Over their last six finished games, which include a late-season loss to Portland in April, they have been outscored by 14.3 points per game, scoring 104.0 and allowing 118.3. Sacramento sits fifth in the Pacific.
0-55th in PacificStreak L5
Next up for the Kings is a trip to the Clippers on Wednesday, Oct. 21. That is Simmons' former team, though he will not play in it. Sacramento will play it without a player it had expected to start. The reporting does not say who will take his place in the lineup, or whether the club will add a player to replace him.
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