Kings’ Ben Simmons suffers torn Achilles, expected to miss season

The Sacramento Kings announced that guard Ben Simmons suffered a torn right Achilles in practice on Sunday and will undergo surgery, according to Marc Stein. The team did not disclose a timetable, but the injury is expected to sideline him for the entire 2026-27 season.

Shams Charania first reported that Simmons was believed to have torn the Achilles.

The injury cuts short a promising comeback attempt. Simmons, 30, had been out of the league since the end of the 2024-25 season while dealing with a back injury that had hurt his mobility and effectiveness, as well as a loss of confidence stemming from his days with the Sixers. In two preseason games with Sacramento, he showed an aggressiveness unseen since the early days of his career, averaging 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 17.4 minutes per game.

Simmons was expected to be in the Kings’ starting lineup on opening night alongside Darius Acuff, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. Sacramento turned to Precious Achiuwa often during the preseason – he started four of the five games he played and averaged 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.

Simmons’ injury is the third torn Achilles of a preseason that has not yet ended around the NBA, after the Thunder’s Otega Oweh and the Sixers’ Ariel Hukporti suffered the same injury.