Ben Simmons Tears Achilles in Kings Practice, Out for Entire Season

Ben Simmons' comeback is over before the real games even tipped off. The 30-year-old Kings guard tore his Achilles at Sunday practice and will miss the entire 2026-27 season, a brutal end to a year-long reset that finally looked like it was paying off.

This stings on every level. Simmons sat out the previous season to sort out both his body and his back, which had sabotaged him for years. The noise out of Sacramento this fall was loud and positive — he'd locked down a starting job and looked the part in the preseason, posting 10.5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in just 17.4 minutes a night while playing a more aggressive, downhill style than we'd seen in ages.

The context makes it worse. Two seasons back, the former No. 1 overall pick suited up for 51 games split between Brooklyn and the Clippers, averaging 5 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds on 52% shooting (every make from inside the arc). It wasn't gaudy, but it showed flashes of a functional floor general. That version was supposed to anchor Doug Christie's second unit — maybe more.

What This Does to the Kings Rotation

Christie now has a hole to patch on short notice. The expected starting five — rookie Darius Acuff Jr., Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray — leans heavily on its frontcourt, and Simmons was penciled in as a connective passer and defender. Without him, Sacramento's bench creation takes a real hit.

The clearest beneficiary is Precious Achiuwa. He's the obvious candidate to absorb big minutes alongside the starters, and he's been reliable — 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 73 games last season (2025-26), good for 24.1 fantasy points per game and a #152 overall rank (#50 at position). More run only lifts that floor.

The Fantasy Fallout

For Simmons managers, there's no soft landing here. He sat at #205 overall in our rankings (#97 at his position) and averaged just 20.6 fantasy points per game in his last real sample (2024-25), with his final five games before the layoff running 15 points below his own average. A torn Achilles at 30 wipes the entire 2026-27 slate. If you drafted him on upside, he's a drop in every format.

The winner to chase is Achiuwa. He was already a sneaky-deep streamer, and a bump into the starter-adjacent rotation could push his per-game output past that 24.1 FPTS/G baseline from last season. He's been trending up anyway — plus-3.9 fantasy points over his last five versus his season average. Add him in deeper leagues now, before the Christie rotation news makes him obvious to everyone else.

Keep an eye on the frontcourt usage, too. Sabonis remains the engine — 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 19 games this season (2025-26), a chunky 36.2 FPTS/G and trending slightly up (+2.9 over his last five). Simmons' absence means more ball-handling and playmaking funneled through him, so if anything his already-elite floor gets a touch safer.

Murray is the mild cautionary note. He's at #94 overall (#32 at position) on 30 FPTS/G this season (2025-26), but he's slumped lately — down 7.5 fantasy points per game over his last five versus his average. Losing a secondary creator in Simmons doesn't help a shooter who needs clean looks generated for him.

Bottom line: cut Simmons loose, grab Achiuwa in any league where fringe production matters, and treat Sabonis as a locked-in start whose role just got a little bigger. The comeback story's done — your waiver wire isn't.