In the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans, De’Aaron Fox is carving up the defense and taking over the game. During a timeout with a win in sight Fox tells his team that they have held the Pelicans to under 20 points so far in the quarter and that they need to keep it that way for the rest of the game. He also reminds them to keep that in mind for how they need to play moving forward.
The Pelicans finished with 15 points in the quarter and the Kings won 118-109 in that Feb. 1 game.
Fox has been an absolute beast since he scored 43 points on the same Pelicans team on Jan. 17. In that stretch of 8 games, he is averaging 28 points, 8.7 assists and 4 rebounds. He has been taking over in the fourth quarter when the team needs him to and being more assertive. On top of the numbers and when/how he is scoring, Fox is turning into the vocal leader this team has needed him to be since he first put on a Kings jersey.
He is naturally more of the lead by example type with a quiet nature about him, but examples like the one in the timeout against the Pelicans show that he is taking that new contract seriously and is challenging himself to be the one all the responsibility falls on.
“The steps he’s taken this year, not only what he does on the court, but being vocal off the court things of that sort, you can tell this is what he wants to be, he wants to be that star and you can see him turning into that before our very eyes so it’s been very exciting,” Richaun Holmes said.
In the summer of 2019, Fox appeared on a podcast in which he talked about holding his teammates accountable and that sometimes it is good for players to be able to call each other out for poor play because “the best teams always had confrontation.” He recently addressed how there has been more accountability with the team as of late.
“As the season has gone on guys are getting on each other more. You’re realizing that it’s not personal. If you mess up something, I might tell you something, but I’m telling it to the whole team as well because we don’t want to be that team that constantly makes the same mistakes. You’re not going to be good that way, you’re not going to win games if you’re constantly making the same mistakes,” Fox said.
Head coach Luke Walton has recently been pointing out Fox leading more in timeouts.
“He was leading in huddles, he was talking about defense, he was talking about stops, rebounding the basketball,” Walton said after the game against the Boston Celtics.
And this is helping a guy like Tyrese Haliburton as well who is obviously beyond his years in terms of his play, but is learning the nuances of the game and being around NBA teammates.
“He’s just got to keep doing what he’s doing and I’ve got to followed that lead. It’s been big for me being a young guy in my first year kind of learning from him and talking to him,” Haliburton said.
Fox’s amazing play speaks for itself the aggressiveness in the fourth quarter, being able to manage games, playing downhill, knocking down his shots with more frequency, playing with confidence, the dazzling moves. And that gives his teammates confidence alongside him.
“I think the work that he has put in, if he misses a few shots he’s not hanging his head he’s still foot on the gas. His reads have gotten better. I think just his overall game has been elevated so I think that confidence in himself, especially in the way he’s been playing becomes infectious,” Harrison Barnes said.
Fox seems to be on a mission to be a star in the NBA and he is getting there, and with these signs of leadership the future certainly looks bright.
“I want to continue to grow as a player, be the player that I want to be, be the player that I know I can be, and be the player that people want me to be,” he said. “So, that’s being able to facilitate when necessary especially being a point guard and being able to put the ball in the basket. … Trying to keep turnovers down as well while you are doing that, obviously, you have a high usage, which is what the best players in the league have to do. You’re asked to do a lot and you’re expected to do a lot so I know that’s what I need to do.”
Fox is a star, and a leader!
“We need your help Fox! Andross has invaded the Lylat system and taken over Corneria!”
He is Becoming all that we hoped he could be ! Also, totally agree with his All Star opinion !
Fox in the last 11 games
26.1 PPG
4.0 RPG
8.0 APG
1.2 SPG
3.8 TOPG
38.3 3PT %
He’s who Ja Morant thinks he is. Just a joke and defending my PG from the early season hate he got from the “experts”.
Imagine if he gets Trae Young calls. Imagine if his FT% bumps up to even the 75-80% range consistently. Imagine when he’s 25-30 years old, in his prime, stronger and he’s finishing those and-1s that he leaves short or off the rim a few times per game. Imagine if he decides to go full Westbrook and grab 7+ rebounds a game. Imagine if he gets a 20-25 ppg teammate so he can beat the other team with 10-15 assists rather than having to go for 25-30 pts every night.
Don’t know where the destination is but the ride is going to be fun!
He was playing ok early in the season. The Kings couldn’t consistently win unless he played better. Now he’s playing great! That’s not really hating, that’s calling it like it is.
Destroy all those non believers
He’S gOiNg to rEgReSs tO ThE MeAnNnNn
-Professional buzzkills
Let’s hope not!
Fox has been relentless lately. I like it. He is on the right track to becoming who I thought he would when we drafted him. He always had the right mindset, he just needed to mature and grow.
OT but I saw Kenny Smith talk about how good effort alone can win you 30-35 games, and how top tier talent puts you above .500. It made me think of Joerger’s last season where the effort was there, but the talent wasn’t yet. We lost a lot of games in the closing minutes that year because we just didn’t have the talent to catapult us into the eighth seed. This team is beginning to absolutely bring it lately. Lately there haven’t been random journeyman having career games on us. A month ago Carson Edwards or whoever on that Celtics team we faced would have had a coming out party. We will see how far this goes.
Since I’ve been an avid Kings fan, there’s been a lot of reason to get excited about finally escaping basketball hell: Tyrese and K-Mart; the Boogie years. But both of those eras totally pale in comparison in terms of promise that is held between this Fox-Haliburton backcourt. Fox is a legit All Star and Hali is ROY, whether the powers that be vote that way or not. They both have such a confidence, maturity, intelligence and professionalism to them that barring injury, these guys are gonna be a top 3 backcourt tandem in the league for years to come. You know they both have boundless potential and nothing is going to stop either of them from realizing it. It’s a real gift we got here, we just need a couple more pieces. If McNair figures his shit out, I’d love to be the Indiana Pacers of the West, or hell – I’ll be the old Houston Rockets. The team that has no business regularly being a playoff contender as they are, yet through savvy frontcourt management can put together personnel that fit together and play at a high level for a small-market budget. Maybe they wouldn’t win a title, but a playoff appearance sure as hell would be nice.
This is the Fox we were looking for!
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