Ben Simmons Tears Achilles in Kings Practice, Comeback Season Over Before It Starts

Ben Simmons tore his right Achilles tendon during a live drill in Sacramento Kings practice on Sunday, Oct. 18, the team said. An MRI confirmed the tear. Simmons will undergo surgery, and the Kings said further updates would be provided as appropriate, with no return timeline given.

ESPN insider Shams Charania first reported the injury on X on Sunday evening. He called it a suspected season ending injury and pointed to what he described as rejuvenated and impressive training camp and preseason performances from Simmons. USA TODAY Sports reported the same season ending expectation, and the Kings then confirmed the diagnosis in their own medical update.

A comeback stopped on the last weekend of preseason

The injury lands three days before Sacramento opens the regular season on Oct. 21 on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers. That is the team Simmons last played for, in the 2024-25 season. He missed all of the 2025-26 season while he rehabilitated the back problems that have followed him for years, then signed a one year, 3.5 million dollar contract with Sacramento in September, filling the Kings final open roster spot, according to USA TODAY Sports and ESPN reporting cited by the paper.

His preseason had pointed the other way. In the preseason finale against San Antonio on Oct. 16, Simmons finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 26 minutes. Reports from training camp said he was in line to start on opening night next to rookie Darius Acuff Jr. On Sunday afternoon, hours before the injury news broke, ESPN debuted Being Ben, its documentary about his attempt to return to the league.

Simmons answered on Instagram on Sunday night. He wrote that he has faced challenges before that tested him mentally, physically and emotionally, and found a way through each one. "This injury is another chapter in my journey, not the end of my story," he wrote. "Adversity does not define you. How you respond to it does."

What Sacramento loses

At 6 foot 10, Simmons gave the Kings size, passing and defense in one player, a mix few guards in the league can match. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft by Philadelphia, he won Rookie of the Year for the 2017-18 season, made three All Star teams, and was named to the All Defensive First Team in 2019-20 and 2020-21. USA TODAY Sports lists his career averages at 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game.

None of that will be on the floor this season if the season ending expectation holds. An Achilles tear is one of the longest recoveries in basketball, and Simmons, now 30, had only just worked his way back from the back surgeries and the lost year that came with them. Sacramento must now reset its opening night plans without the veteran it signed to steady a young backcourt, starting with the trip to face the Clippers on Oct. 21.