Four minutes into the game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Brunson dribbled into the attacking zone, taking a screen from teammate Josh Hart to force a switch that would allow him to isolate against rookie center Maxime Raynaud. However, when the star point guard began attacking, he fell to the ground and knocked the ball over, leading to a steal and fast-break dunk from his former Knicks teammate Precious Achiuwa.
Brunson stood up and remained in the game, but moved cautiously over the next few possessions before asking to leave the game with 7:01 left in the first quarter. He returned to the locker room and that was it; The Knicks would later list him as questionable to return to the game, before ruling him out entirely early in the third quarter. He would finish with four points by going 2 of 3 in five minutes of play.
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This marks the second right ankle injury of the season for Brunson, who missed two games in November after suffering a loss to the Orlando Magic. He suffered a more serious sprain to that same ankle during a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, an injury that kept him sidelined for nearly a month and cost him 15 games.
(Lachlan Cunningham via Getty Images)
The Knicks did not have an official update on Brunson’s status following the loss, according to ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. He left the visiting locker room without the aid of crutches or walking boots, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic; he did not limp, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper.
Brunson, 29, is eighth in the NBA in scoring with 28.2 points per game and 21st in assists with 6.1 per game, shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.8% from the 3-point line and 85.2% from the free throw line. He is expected to earn his third consecutive All-Star selection when rosters are announced later this month.
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The Knicks, who sit in second place in the Eastern Conference at 25-15, are 1-2 without him this season. During their extended absence last season, they went 9-6, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby averaging over 20 points per game and taking on a heavier offensive workload.
With Brunson unavailable, New York’s offense slumped against the Kings, as the Knicks shot just 39% from the floor and 8 of 41 (19.5%) from 3-point range en route to their fourth-least efficient offensive performance of the season, per Cleaning the Glass. The loss was the Knicks’ sixth in their last eight games, continuing a prolonged skid that has seen them go 7-8 with the NBA’s second-worst defense since winning the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup last month. New York will travel to San Francisco on Thursday to face the Golden State Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back.