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Top rookies Darius Acuff Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr. will go head-to-head when the Sacramento Kings face the Brooklyn Nets on the first day of the California Classic on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
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Unfortunately for the Kings, their other recent first-round draft pick won’t be able to participate in the three-day event after going down with an ankle injury.
An MRI showed that rookie Alex Karaban suffered a right ankle sprain when he landed on another player’s foot after contesting a shot during a scrimmage at the end of Thursday’s practice. The team said Karaban will be reevaluated in one week.
Karaban was selected with the 29th pick in last week’s NBA draft. The Kings made a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire Karaban’s draft rights in exchange for two second-round picks.
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Karaban, 23, is a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward who appeared in three NCAA championship games at UConn. He helped the Huskies win back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024. The Huskies reached the championship game again this year before losing to Michigan.
Karaban earned first-team All-Big East Conference honors as a senior this season. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.4% from the field and 37.4% from 3-point range.
Karaban will miss all three games in the California Classic, but he could return for the NBA Summer League, which will be held July 9-19 in Las Vegas.
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