The Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz are both sitting at the bottom of West Group A with a 0-3 record through NBA Cup play. On Friday, the two struggling teams are set to face off, although to nobody’s surprise, they have already been eliminated from advancing to the knockout rounds.
Still, both teams are looking to get back in the win column on Friday, but are dealing with some key injuries.
Kings’ injury report vs. Jazz
Dec 30, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) dribbles against the Dallas Mavericks during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The Kings have ruled out star center Domantas Sabonis (left knee partial meniscus tear) and have listed backup point guard Dennis Schroder (right hip soreness) as questionable.
Sabonis is now set to miss his ninth game of the season, as the Kings are 3-5 without him so far. As he is still set to be sidelined for multiple weeks, the Kings will continue to get used to playing without Sabonis, although recent reports suggest his time in Sacramento could be coming to an end regardless.
As for Schroder, he missed his first game of the season in Sacramento’s last outing, which resulted in an embarrassing loss to the Phoenix Suns. Since getting benched in favor of Russell Westbrook, Schroder has actually been an impactful backup point guard, and his presence in the second unit could be more valuable than many realize.
Jazz without standout center for rest of season
Oct 16, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) smiles after making a great play during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Delta Center. | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images
The Jazz have ruled out starting center Walker Kessler for the rest of the 2025-26 season due to surgery on his left shoulder, as both teams will be without their starting big men for Friday’s matchup.
The Jazz have also ruled out Georges Niang (left foot stress reaction) against the Kings. Utah has plenty of weapons to make life hard for the Kings on Friday, especially with star forward Lauri Markkanen, who is averaging 28.5 points per game this season, while Keyonte George has taken a huge leap himself.
The Kings and Jazz have both been struggling this season, but Friday’s matchup could certainly go either way as each team gets desperate. The Kings have won just two of their last 11 games, while the Jazz have won two of their last ten. One of Sacramento’s five wins on the season came against the Jazz, and they are certainly looking to pick up another one against Utah.
The Kings and Jazz are set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. PT in Salt Lake City on Friday.
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