The Sacramento Kings received some unfortunate news a few days ago when offseason signing Ben Simmons, the former All-Star, ruptured his Achilles — putting an end to his season before it even began. Simmons was generating some hype with his final preseason performance, putting up 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. But now, Simmons is back on the mend, which is quite the devastating turn of events.

Simmons suffered this debilitating injury during practice, and Kings forward Keegan Murray recalled just how heartbreaking it was to see the three-time All-Star go down the way he did, especially after all he's been through over the past few years.

“It's probably the worst thing I've seen on the basketball court, just from what he did last year and trying to get back,” Murray told reporters prior to the Kings' season-opener on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, via Brenden Nunes of Sactown 1140. “I think he was playing at a high level, so it's gonna take a lot of guys to replicate what he was doing.”

The Kings had named Simmons as a starter heading into the new season; the 30-year-old point forward was set to join Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Murray, and rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. in that quintet.

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After spending the entirety of the 2025-26 season away from the NBA to focus on recovery from the back problems that have caused a steep decline, Simmons was hopeful of at least approximating the impact he had on the court on both ends when he was at his best.

Alas, Simmons will now miss two consecutive NBA seasons, and it remains to be seen if this would prove to be the nail in the coffin of his NBA career. Perhaps the Kings, or another team, would take another chance on him next season. But it can be heartbreaking to see just how unkind fate has been to Simmons over the past half-decade or so.