DeMar DeRozan's Injury Status for Kings vs Timberwolves

The Sacramento Kings will be short-handed against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Oct 24, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) claps after a play against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have had poor injury luck to start their 2024-25 season, as All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis, All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan, and standout sixth man Malik Monk have all missed time.

This injury bug has not led to an ideal start in Sacramento, winning just eight of their first 18 games, but have lost some questionable matchups even when healthy. So far this season, the Kings have played the third-easiest schedule in the NBA. The rest of the way, the Kings have the toughest schedule.

Unfortunately for the Kings, the injury bug is not going away. Six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan is set to miss Wednesday's matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves with lower back muscle inflammation, per Fox40's Sean Cunningham.

An MRI revealed a grade 1 right calf strain for Kings forward Trey Lyles, who suffered that injury last night. He will be out of action and be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks.

DeMar DeRozan will miss tomorrow’s game in Minnesota (lower back muscle inflammation) and is day to day.

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) November 26, 2024

DeRozan recently missed three consecutive games with lower back soreness, and this issue seems to be coming back. In his three games back from injury, DeRozan averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, shooting 44.8 percent from the field but going 0-9 from deep.

In Tuesday's loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, DeRozan had team-highs with 30 points and 6 assists, looking more like his normal shot-creating self. After his strong performance, nobody would expect DeRozan to be injured, but his back must be enough of a concern to sideline him in a huge matchup against the Timberwolves.

The Kings have already faced off against the Timberwolves twice this season, losing both matchups by a combined six points. In their last meeting, star point guard De'Aaron Fox set the franchise record with 60 points with DeRozan sidelined. Playing without DeRozan again on Wednesday will be interesting for Fox and the Kings offense.

---

Follow Sacramento Kings on SI on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Kings news videos and live-stream podcasts!