Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud suffered a patellar subluxation in his right knee during Saturday night's preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors, according to the Kings. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Despite anticipation that the young center will miss the start of the regular season, the diagnosis landed as a collective sigh of relief within the organization, considering their worst fears in the moment.
Raynaud was injured while setting a screen for rookie point guard Darius Acuff. The center's right knee gave out as Acuff curled around him, and Raynaud crumpled to the floor and screamed in pain.
Sacramento coach Doug Christie called timeout and walked out to the middle of the floor to check on Raynaud, who had his hands over his face. As teammates came to his side, team trainers called over the EMT with a wheelchair to help Raynaud to the locker room.
A dispirited Raynaud was wheeled to the X-ray room during halftime and then back to the locker room at the start of the third quarter. While there, Kings general manager Scott Perry and team owner Vivek Ranadive visited him. Ranadive gave Raynaud a hug.
He was eventually helped out of the chair onto a pair of crutches, unable to put weight on his right leg. After the game, he received an MRI in San Francisco, which ruled out any serious ligament damage.
Once he's able to return, Raynaud is expected to play a key frontcourt role behind starting center Domantas Sabonis. Raynaud made the All-Rookie second team last season after averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 74 games, proving to be a significant draft find with the 42nd pick.