In July, Sacramento Kings rookie Devin Carter underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. At the time, the No. 13 overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft was scheduled to be re-evaluated in six months. Now that four months have passed since the procedure, Carter has been cleared for unrestricted shooting, and more updates will follow in January, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

After the surgery, Carter posted a message for Kings fans on social media.

“Sac! Thank you for believing in me! I’ll be back soon and can’t wait to show y'all this dawg you have.”

The 22-year-old was the Big East Player of the Year out of Providence in 2024 and named to the first-team All-Big East. In 2023-24 with the Friars, he averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on .473/.377/.749 shooting.

Kings overperforming to start 2024-25 season

Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter (22) during media day at Golden 1 Center
© Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Sacramento has climbed to the No. 10 spot in ClutchPoints' latest NBA Power Rankings from Brett Siegel, powered by their 6-4 start to the season.

“Much of who the Sacramento Kings were a season ago is still true today. This team's fate is once again going to come down to how they close out games, as the Kings are 2-2 in contests decided by one possession or overtime. DeMar DeRozan currently leads the team in scoring at 25.2 points per game, and De'Aaron Fox is beginning to find his groove offensively as well after a slow start.

A recent win over the Suns on Sunday has catapulted the Kings into the top 10 of the NBA power rankings, yet it came at a cost. Malik Monk left this game with an ankle injury, and he is likely to miss some time moving forward. This is a bigger loss than many would imagine, as Monk holds things down in the second unit when DeRozan and Fox are on the bench. Perhaps this will open up more minutes for sharpshooter Doug McDermott off the bench.”

Monk is a big loss, forcing big minutes for the Kings' stars on a team limited in depth. Against the Suns, only one non-starter, Keon Ellis, had more than 20 minutes. He must step up as Monk had been asked to provide a spark off the bench.

DeMar DeRozan is averaging 38.3 minutes per game, a career-high. He's also been shooting the lights out, sinking 52.5% of his shots, well over his 46.9% career average.

It's all been business as usual, except for DeRozan's beef with Drake, which has carried into the season. The Toronto Raptors fan said he'd take down a DeRozan banner if the team put one up.

“If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I'll go up there and pull it down myself.”

The Sacramento star wished Drake well if he tried.

“He's going to have a long way to climb to take it down, so tell him ‘Good luck.'”

The Kings are in San Antonio to face the Spurs tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST.