Ben Simmons tears his Achilles tendon in practice, ending his Kings comeback before it started
The Sacramento Kings guard suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during a Sunday drill, just three days before opening night and hours after ESPN released a documentary about his return.
In brief
Ben Simmons tears his Achilles in Kings practice, ending comeback before opening night
The timing could not have been more brutal. Hours after ESPN released Being Ben, a documentary chronicling the 30-year-old's long road back to the NBA, Sacramento Kings guard Ben Simmons went down during a live drill at Sunday's practice and tore his right Achilles tendon. The 2026-27 season starts Wednesday. He will not be in the building.
The Kings announced Sunday that Simmons suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during practice, an injury an MRI confirmed and one that is expected to wipe out his entire 2026-27 season, just three days before the team opens its schedule.
The injury is likely season-ending for Simmons, who had authored an impressive training camp on short notice for Sacramento. It occurred during a live drill at Sunday's practice, the team said.
Gone, again. And this time the list of what he is losing goes beyond basketball.
A comeback that looked real
Simmons, a former No. 1 overall pick and three-time All-Star, had spent the entire previous season away from basketball to recover physically and mentally, signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with Sacramento in early September, and by every account had looked rejuvenated through camp and the preseason.
He had every reason to feel good about where things stood. The 30-year-old, who was expected to be a backup point guard behind rookie Darius Acuff Jr., played in all five of Sacramento's preseason games. He started in the Kings' preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, playing 26 minutes and scoring 14 points.
Simmons had traveled to Sacramento last month to visit the Kings and impressed coach Doug Christie and other members of the basketball staff at the team's practice facility, where he underwent an in-depth medical exam and conducted an on-court workout. Over the following days, the Kings offered him a contract with the expectation he would be a backup point guard and play positions 1 through 5.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported the injury first. According to Charania: "An MRI confirmed a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon for Ben Simmons. A devastating turn of events on the eve of his NBA return after rehabilitating from back surgeries."
A career defined by injury and interruption
The Achilles is just the latest chapter in a medical record that reads like a cautionary tale. Simmons underwent microdiscectomy surgery in May 2022 to treat a herniated disc. In March 2024, he needed another procedure to address a pinched nerve in his lower back. Persistent nerve pain hampered his mobility, while knee and calf injuries added to his struggles.
The 2016 No. 1 overall pick started his career strong with the Philadelphia 76ers, but a holdout in his fifth season led to him being traded to the Brooklyn Nets. He played limited games in Brooklyn due to multiple back injuries and eventually surgery for a herniated disc, and signed with the Clippers partway through the 2024-25 season after being waived by the Nets.
He sat out last season entirely while dealing with back and leg injuries after ending the 2024-25 season in a reserve role for the Los Angeles Clippers. His $3.5 million deal with Sacramento was largely non-guaranteed. The deal was reportedly a non-guaranteed deal, with Simmons able to earn $1 million by making the opening night roster. Because the injury is significant, however, Simmons will receive his full salary regardless, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The documentary drops, then this
The injury casts a shadow over the release of ESPN's Being Ben. The documentary was released just a few hours before the news of his injury broke. The back-to-back of those two events, on the same Sunday afternoon, is the kind of thing that would feel too on-the-nose in a script.
Simmons responded on social media. He wrote: "I've faced challenges before that tested me mentally, physically and emotionally, and I've found a way through every single one of them. This injury is another chapter in my journey, not the end of my story."
He also posted separately: "I've been knocked down before, and I've always found a way to get back up. This time will be no different."
What it means for Sacramento
The injury leaves the Kings without a veteran playmaker they had hoped would strengthen their rotation. Sacramento had built around rookie Darius Acuff Jr. running the point, and Simmons was to function as the experienced, switchable body alongside him. That depth is now gone before the season tips.
The 30-year-old's career has been derailed by injuries over the past five years. A torn Achilles, depending on when surgery happens and how rehabilitation goes, typically carries a recovery timeline of 9 to 12 months. That puts any realistic return to the court well into the spring or summer of 2027, and even then, nothing about Simmons' medical history suggests smooth sailing.
The questions circulating in NBA circles now are harder to duck than they were a week ago: at 30, with back surgeries and now an Achilles rupture on his ledger, does he come back? At the age of 30, Simmons has time to recover and attempt a return. Whether that return ever looks like the player who averaged 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in his final full Philadelphia season is a different question entirely.
The Sacramento Kings open their regular season Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers, the franchise where Simmons' last meaningful NBA stretch ended. He will watch from a couch instead.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
