Kings guard Ben Simmons has torn Achilles tendon, will undergo surgery

Why this is trending

Sacramento Kings guard Ben Simmons has a torn Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery, the team announced Sunday. The tear happened during a live drill at Sunday's practice. Sacramento is calling it a likely season-ending injury for Simmons, who is 30 and was only a few weeks into his tenure with the team. Simmons is a three-time All-Star who signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Kings on Sept. 4, and he was healthy at the time he agreed to that deal.

What is known right now comes straight from Sunday's announcement: the torn Achilles, the plan for surgery, and the expectation that the injury ends his season. No surgery date or recovery timeline has been given yet. What happens next is the operation itself, then rehab, with Sacramento expected to be without him for the rest of the year.

How he got to Sacramento

Simmons worked out for Kings general manager Scott Perry in Miami over the summer and sat down with him for about an hour in late August. He then traveled to Sacramento, where he visited the team's practice facility, went through an in-depth medical exam and took part in an on-court workout. That visit impressed coach Doug Christie and other members of the basketball staff, and in the days that followed, the Kings put together a contract offer.

At 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, Simmons signed with the expectation that he would serve as a backup point guard behind rookie Darius Acuff Jr. and be able to play all five positions on the floor. Sacramento's bet was on a reclamation project, a player the team believed still had years left in his prime. From there, Simmons put together what the team called an impressive training camp on short notice.

Two preseason games, then the injury

Simmons appeared in two preseason games for the Kings, averaging 10.5 points in 17.5 minutes. That brief stretch was the only on-court look at him in a Sacramento uniform before Sunday's practice injury ended his season before the regular season had a chance to get going.

Simmons responds

Simmons posted a statement after the team's announcement. He said this is not the first setback he has had to work through, mental, physical or emotional, and that he has made it past every one of them before. On the Achilles tear, he called it "another chapter in my journey, not the end of my story."

He also said being away from the sport he loves is never easy, especially given everything it took him to get back on an NBA floor, and added, "adversity doesn't define you. How you respond to it does."

Facts per ESPN. Opinion is the taproom's.