Hoops Habit
Fansided

Sacramento Kings: Has De’Aaron Fox become underrated?

By Luke Duffy

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 25: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings looks on in the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on February 25, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 25: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings looks on in the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on February 25, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

De’Aaron Fox has been a quality player for the Sacramento Kings, but is he already being lost among some of the newer NBA players who came after him?

In his third year in the NBA, it is clear that point guard De’Aaron Fox continues to go from strength to strength with the Sacramento Kings. Year two is the peak for him so far, as the franchise became fun to watch on League Pass and flirted with the idea of making the playoffs for a while. That is more than can be said in recent years for the team.

Before the forced stoppage to this season, which looks more and more like it may be reversed in time, Fox had endured a more frustrating time of it as a result of injury and the Kings not kicking on at all from the modest promise of last season. So much so in fact, that he’s suddenly slipped into the conversation of most underrated players in the league. But how did this happen?

More from Sacramento Kings

Fox actually made statistical improvements in a lot of areas in 2019-20, even if he only appeared in 45 games (starting 43) as a result of ankle and abdominal injuries. The 20.4 points he averaged was a career-high to this point, while the 6.8 assists lagged only slightly behind the 7.3 of a year ago.

Fox was taking more shots than ever before at 15.4 per contest while appearing on the court for 31.7 minutes a night (another career-high), but his field goal percentage of 47.5 percent was another career-best so far. The Kings slipped out of visibility in the tougher Western Conference because Fox was forced to miss time, and looked so much better when he was out there.

This was highlighted in a key area, and unsurprisingly another career-high was also achieved here, with his Player Efficiency Rating. The league average is around 15, with the 20.3 Fox put up better than the 18.1 of a year ago (when a lot of people were raving about him) and further proof that he continues to be a source of needed positivity for this Kings franchise.

So what has happened then? Well, Fox is already in the league longer than Trae Young, yet in his second campaign he has wrestled the League Pass mantle from Fox, among many others, and continues to improve the ceiling of the Atlanta Hawks at an accelerated rate. Then there is rookie sensation Ja Morant, who had the Memphis Grizzlies hanging around the playoff conversation.

In fact Morant in his first year in the league was reminiscent of Fox in a number of ways. A young floor general coming and dragging an organization with them, all while playing with a ferocity that is always going to have both of them compared to Russell Westbrook. Right now you’d be lucky to build around Morant or the unlimited range of Young, leaving Fox out in the cold.

Even Luka Doncic, who is not really a point guard but will forever be linked with Young, came in after Fox and took so much of the hype away from basically everybody else in the league. It’s not as if Fox is flawless either, the 30.7 percent he shot from 3-point range a huge step back from the 37.1 percent of a year ago.

This despite only seeing his shot attempts from that area (3.3 to 3.9 per game) increase marginally. An even bigger problem going forward for Fox, though, is what the Kings are going to be able to do to surround him with the kind of talent that can help him compete for a playoff spot. He is still only 22, but young players don’t hang around bad situations like they used to.

The Kings were only worse than four other organizations in the West this season. The Golden State Warriors were one and put simply they won’t be rooted to the bottom of the standings next season. The San Antonio Spurs were another, and while their days as postseason locks are over, you’d be more confident of them figuring things out before the Kings. Their history proves that.

That leaves only the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns have Devin Booker and showed some early season promise before falling apart, while the Timberwolves (arguably a more sorry franchise than the Sacramento Kings) do at least have Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. That is not good reading if you’re a Kings fan.

In fact you could make the argument that for all of the positive Fox has brought to Sacramento during his short time there, and really he is a joy to watch and involves teammates and brings an infectious energy and enthusiasm, you’d rather have Booker to build around than Fox. You’d definitely rather have Towns too, and maybe even Russell.

So it’s not that De’Aaron Fox had regressed, far from it in fact. But there’s only so much love to go around, and it is clear that while the Kings continue to take one step forward and two steps back, none of their players are going to get a look in. Just ask one-time savior DeMarcus Cousins.

Fox is posting fringe All-Star numbers, but right now he looks closer to making an All-Underrated starting five than an actual All-Star game. Don’t give up on him yet though because he has the ability and so much time to receive more attention.

The only problem? So does the rest of the league.

Next. Kings: De'Aaron Fox shall not be slept on. dark

Home/Sacramento Kings