Sacramento Kings: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season
By Amaar Burton
2. De’Aaron Fox will have the keys from Day 1
Fox was a dark horse Rookie of the Year pick at this time last year, but his chances at winning that award took a hit when coach Joerger decided to bring his young point guard along slowly rather than throw him in the deep end right away.
Fox began the season backing up veteran George Hill, but even then, he was the Kings’ leading scorer for a while before Randolph took on a bigger role. Hill was eventually traded, and while Fox continued to show flashes of future greatness (11.6 points, 4.4 assists per game), he still wasn’t getting as many minutes as other top rookies like Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell and Lonzo Ball.
In Year 2, the lightning-quick lefty could be given a bigger stage and more freedom to put his game on display. Fox will be the starting point guard on opening night.
De’Aaron Fox will be tremendous this NBA season. He’s about to insert himself into the top emerging PG talk. #Yoda
— Rashad Phillips (@RP3natural) October 5, 2018
During the offseason, he worked on outside shooting, his biggest weakness. During the preseason he’s looked good in that facet of the game. If he can force defenders to respect his jump shot, Fox will be a nightmare to guard with his speed and ability to get into the lane.
The Western Conference is stacked with great point guards — Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, etc. — and Fox could use this season to start putting his name next to theirs in the NBA’s hierarchy.