Kevin Huerter suffers left shoulder dislocation, OUT vs. Toronto

Mar 19, 2024, 2:53 PM

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 18: Kevin Huerter #9 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after getting in...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

The Sacramento Kings could be without starting shooting guard Kevin Huerter for the foreseeable future.

According to the Kings’ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Huerter is listed as out due to a left shoulder dislocation,

Huerter suffered the injury during the opening minutes of Tuesday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center as the guard was helped to the locker room following a play near Sacramento’s basket.

While no timetable has been given to determine Huerter’s return-to-action availability, the common recovery time for NBA players who have suffered dislocated shoulders is weeks to months, not days.

During the 2022-23 season, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was sidelined for three weeks due to a subluxation, which is a “mild version of a dislocated shoulder.”

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle is currently working his way back to game action after dislocating his right shoulder on January 27th, although season-ending surgery hasn’t been ruled out.

Each injury is different, and while it’s currently unknown how long Sacramento will be without Huerter, it could be a while before ‘Red Velvet’ returns to the lineup.

Kevin Huerter went to the Kings’ locker room after an apparent wrist injury pic.twitter.com/DBwwggr8M5

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 19, 2024

More on Kings guard Kevin Huerter

During a fast-break opportunity just two minutes into Monday’s game against the Grizzlies, Huerter appeared to injure his left arm after Memphis guard Desmond Bane’s intentional foul attempt to halt the transition opportunity.

Bane’s right arm came down on Huerter’s left arm as the guard was in the process of lifting off for a lay-in attempt, leading to a foul call with 10:09 on the game clock in the first quarter.

Huerter crashed to the ground and immediately clutched at his left wrist as Sacramento’s training staff tended to the injured guard. After several minutes, Huerter was helped to the locker room with a towel draped over his left wrist/arm, and he was -ruled out for the remainder of the game.

With Huerter sidelined and undergoing testing to determine the severity of the injury, second-year guard Keon Ellis was called on the shoulder an extended workload against the Grizzlies.

Ellis swatted five shots while playing a career-high 33 minutes–including 11 minutes in the fourth quarter and all five overtime minutes–to go along with five points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Keon Ellis establishes new franchise mark for Kings guards

Collecting five blocks in a single game is no easy feat, even for some of the NBA’s top shot-blockers, but Ellis put on a show against Memphis while spending a large portion of the night matched up against high-scoring guard Desmond Bane.

Four of Ellis’ five blocks came against Bane, as the Alabama product held the Grizzlies guard to four points on one-of-six (16% FG) shooting over 7:34 of game time.

Following Monday’s game, head coach Mike Brown didn’t have an update on Huerter’s status but made it clear that Ellis would fill in as the starting two-guard if Huerter were to miss time.

“I’m not sure how long Kevin [will be out] because I haven’t gotten an update yet,” Brown said. “Obviously, we started Keon in the second half, and he’ll continue to start until Kevin gets back and/or when we want to go in another direction.”

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will hit the road for a three-game trip that will begin on Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors.

Back on January 5th, the Kings secured a 135-130 win over Toronto at Golden 1 Center behind a triple-double performance from Domantas Sabonis (24 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists) and a double-double outing by Keegan Murray (18 points and 12 rebounds).

Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Sacramento holds a 4-6 record at Scotiabank Arena, including 2-4 over the past six seasons.

Be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140 for all of your Kings vs. Raptors coverage, beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Game Night before a 4:30 PM PST tip-off from Toronto.