Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk — one of the front-runners for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award — suffered a sprained right MCL and is expected to miss four to six weeks, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
Monk, who was injured after Luka Doncic fell to his knee during a loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, will likely need the Kings to qualify for the Western Conference playoffs to return this season.
The Kings announced Monk's injury in a news release on Saturday, saying his condition will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The Kings entered Saturday's games ranked eighth in the West — ½ game behind No. 7 Phoenix — and are now without guards Kevin Huerter (shoulder surgery) and Monk for the final two weeks of the regular season and beyond.
The tournament is scheduled to start on April 16, with the first round starting on April 20.
Monk had his best NBA season to date, averaging a career-best 15.2 points and 5.2 assists and turning himself into a solid leader for the Kings.
Monk leads the NBA in points (1,110) and assists (370) off the bench this season — something only Lou Williams (2018-19) has done for a full season since rookies were first tracked in 1970-71, according to ESPN's Stats & Information search.
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