It’s been 42 years since the Sacramento Kings have had a point guard participate in the All-Star game. Will De’Aaron Fox be the one to break that drought?
De’Aaron Fox has been the driving force behind the Sacramento Kings‘ high-powered offense. His numbers have improved all across the board and his team is currently battling for a playoff spot out West. The season he’s having has been nothing short of sensational. So, is it a hot take to say he deserves to be an All-Star?
On the surface, it may sound a bit farfetched given how stiff the competition is in the Western Conference, but when you really dig into the numbers, it becomes more realistic than you think.
When comparing him with the competition in his conference, Fox stacks up pretty well for a second-year player. He’s eighth in points per game (17.9), sixth in assists (7.3), fifth in steals (1.5), sixth in 3-point percentage (38.7 percent) and fourth in field goal percentage (47.7 percent) among point guards who have played 15 or more games
Clearly, his numbers aren’t the issue here. He has the stats. The production is there. But what about the team success? What about the Ws?
Not only are the Kings two games above .500 (16-14) and are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth-best record in the conference, but they also have the second-best road record at 9-8, right behind the Denver Nuggets, who are currently at the top of the Western Conference standings.
In addition, the Kings are the fourth-highest scoring team in the league, putting up 115.4 points a night. They also have the 13th-best offensive rating, and are playing at the second-fastest pace.
Obviously, it’s not just Fox and a bunch of guys from the G League out there. It’s been a collective effort with guys like Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Bogdan Bogdanovic having seasons worthy of praise. But it’s hard to imagine this team getting up and down the court as rapidly as it does and running up the scoreboard without Fox’s lightning quick speed and enhanced all-around game.
The Kings are the cream of the crop when it comes to turning their opponents’ bad defense into easy offense for themselves, and it’s in large part because of their young point guard. Fox is currently averaging 4.4 points off of turnovers, eighth-best in the league. Meanwhile, the Kings rank second in points off turnovers as a team (20.9 per game).
Fox’s counting stats and team success are certainly impressive, but it doesn’t end there.
In the franchise’s entire history, only seven players have averaged 17 or more points per game and seven or more assists per game. Not only is Fox the first to do it since the 1988-89 season, but at just 21 years old, he’s also the youngest ever to achieve the feat. If we go a step further and add in his 1.5 steals per game, the list shrinks to just four — Fox, Larry Drew, Phil Ford and Tiny Archibald.
Fox is also one of six players that have totaled 500 or more points along with 200 or more assists while playing 25 or more games. He’s also the only player this season to record a 30-15-10 game and the third player in Kings history. The last time it was done was in 1986 by Reggie Theus.
He’s turning in a helluva season.
We can probably expect the usual returning All-Stars in the backcourt; Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Klay Thompson. The first three names on the list should be obvious locks, so Fox would likely have to beat out either Westbrook or Thompson.
If we compare their numbers on the year, Fox is right there. He has the highest effective field goal percentage of the group at 52.3 percent, and is second in free throw percentage while taking the most free throw attempts. If we want to dabble in the advanced stats section, he’s also carrying the second-best Player Efficiency Rating (19.1) after Westbrook and producing the most offensive win shares (1.6) despite the significant difference in their usage percentage.
Of course, to some fans, going purely based off their statistical output might not be the be-all, end-all when it comes to their All-Star selection process. Sometimes it might just come down to what you value more from each player.
For example, both Klay and Russ are playing on teams with better records than Fox is, but when taking into account the construction of the roster, their role and age, does it make what Fox is doing more meaningful?
Klay is the third option on a Golden State Warriors team that has been head-and-shoulders above the rest of the NBA for the past two years. He’s playing with two of the three best basketball players in the world and arguably the best defender in the league in Draymond Green. He’s got a lot to work with.
Then you glance at Westbrook’s situation, who is having nothing short of a season you’d expect out of the 2016-17 MVP. He’s averaging a 21-10-10 triple-double, leading the league in assists and steals, but he’s also having one of his worst seasons in terms of his efficiency; His 49.3 true shooting percentage is his lowest since the 2009-10 season, and to top it off, he’s missed eight games in which the Oklahama City Thunder went 5-3.
There’s also the fact that his teammate, Paul George, has undoubtedly been the best player thus far. He’s turning in a career year and has looked like a legitimate candidate for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
So, again, it kind of comes down to what you value more.
Does De’Aaron Fox propelling the third-youngest team in the NBA to a winning record and keeping them in the playoff hunt deserve more recognition than what Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook have done for their teams? We can certainly say that Fox has been the best player for his team, but can we honestly say the same for the other two?
We still have a ways to go until All-Star weekend, so all this could eventually shift and arguments made for Fox could end up looking silly. But as it stands right now, it’s at the very least a conversation worth having.