Keegan Murray is questionable against the Grizzlies as left ankle capsulitis flares up five months after surgery

Keegan Murray is questionable for the Sacramento Kings‘ home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, October 25, listed with left ankle capsulitis, and the ankle in question is the one that cost him most of last season.

The designation went on the league’s official injury report on Saturday, a day after Murray turned the ankle in Friday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He logged 26 minutes in that game but did not come back on the floor for the closing stretch. Kings coach Doug Christie said afterward that Murray had been cleared to go back in, and that he stayed with the group on the court because it was playing well. Christie said Murray “was ready to play when he came back” but that the unit on the floor had earned the minutes.

Capsulitis is inflammation of the joint capsule, the tissue that surrounds the joint, and it usually shows up as stiffness and swelling rather than structural damage. Kings beat writer James Ham reported that Murray spent part of his time away from the bench riding a stationary bike in the tunnel, and that the stiffness is in the ankle he had surgically repaired in May.

A slow start on an ankle Sacramento is watching

Murray has not looked like himself in the first week. Through two games he is averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds on 29.4 percent shooting from the field, and he has yet to make a three-pointer. That is a long way from the 3-and-D forward the Kings committed to with a five-year, $140 million extension, and the ankle is the obvious suspect after a 2025-26 season that was broken up by injuries and ended with surgery.

Sacramento is 0-2 and already short in the frontcourt. Ben Simmons is out for the season after right Achilles tendon surgery, and Maxime Raynaud (right patella subluxation) and Dylan Cardwell (left calf strain) are both listed as out, with each expected to miss another week or two. Domantas Sabonis is carrying a heavy load inside as a result.

Who could start if he sits

Rotoworld pointed to Precious Achiuwa as the likeliest starter if Murray cannot go, which would give Christie a bigger lineup. A smaller option would be Daeqwon Plowden, with Jonathan Mogbo and rookie Alex Karaban also in the mix, according to Inside the Kings. Nique Clifford would likely see more wing minutes either way.

Memphis arrives shorthanded too. The Grizzlies are holding Zach Edey out for left ankle management on the first night of a back-to-back, and Cedric Coward is questionable with a left wrist sprain. All of Sunday’s listings are on our NBA injury report page.

What comes next

The Kings host the Grizzlies on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET (4 a.m. Monday in Cairo), and Murray’s status should be settled before tip-off: Grizzlies at Kings Game Center. Sacramento then visits the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, October 27, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Wednesday in Cairo): Kings at Spurs Game Center.