De'Aaron Fox

De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected 5th overall by the Kings in the 2017 NBA draft.

De'Aaron Fox
Fox with Kentucky in 2016
No. 5 – Sacramento Kings
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-12-20) December 20, 1997
Katy, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCypress Lakes
(Katy, Texas)
CollegeKentucky (2016–2017)
NBA draft2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–presentSacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career
Fox at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game

Fox attended Cypress Lakes High School in Katy, Texas.[1] As a junior, he averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. During the summer, Fox joined the Houston Hoops on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Circuit (EYBL) where he earned EYBL first-team honors.[2] On November 29, Fox scored 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 68–53 victory over MacArthur.[3] On December 28, Fox put up 31 points and 6 assists in a 91–81 victory against Jay M. Robinson High School.[4] As a senior, Fox averaged 32.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.[5] In January 2016, Fox was named a McDonald's All-American and played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game on March 30. In April, Fox played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic, leading the East team to a 131–117 win while earning Co-MVP honors alongside Kentucky teammate Malik Monk.[6] Fox then competed at the Nike Hoop Summit Games. He made the 2015–16 USA Men's Basketball Men's Junior Team in September 2015.[7] He was also invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp. Throughout his high school career, Fox led Cypress Lakes to three state playoff appearances including a regional final appearance his senior year, and twice scored 50 points in a single game.

Recruiting

Fox was the nation's second best point guard behind Lonzo Ball. He was ranked the consensus No. 6 overall recruit in the Class of 2016 by the four main recruiting services: Rivals, ESPN, Scout, and 247Sports.[8]

He committed to Kentucky on November 12, 2015, live on ESPNU.[9] He chose Kentucky over Kansas, Louisville, and LSU.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
De'Aaron Fox
PG		 Houston, Texas Cypress Lakes (TX) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Nov 12, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6   Rivals: 6  247Sports: 6  ESPN: 6
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Kentucky 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  • "2016 Kentucky Wildcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.

    College career

    On November 13, 2016, Fox recorded 21 points and 3 assists during a 93–69 victory over Canisius College at the Bluegrass Showcase. Six days later, he posted 16 points and 6 assists to defeat Duquesne University, 93–69. In a game against Arizona State on November 28, he recorded a triple double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists; this made Fox only the second Wildcat in the history of Kentucky basketball to record one after Chris Mill in 1988.[10] On January 7, 2017, Fox scored 27 points to go along with 6 assists in a 97–71 victory over Arkansas. He tallied 21 points and 5 assists to defeat Mississippi State, 88–81, on January 17. On February 18 that year, Fox scored 16 points and dished out 5 assists to help the Wildcats defeat the Georgia Bulldogs. On March 4, Fox scored 19 points in a 71–63 win over Texas A&M. Kentucky would go on to defeat Georgia in the quarterfinals and Alabama in the semi-finals. On March 12, Fox scored 18 points in an 82–65 win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament in addition earning SEC Tournament MVP honors.[11] On March 17, Fox scored 19 points and 3 assists to defeat Northern Kentucky University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. On March 19, Fox scored 14 points to defeat Wichita State 65–62 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On March 24, In a Sweet 16 matchup against the UCLA Bruins, Fox scored 39 points to advance the Kentucky Wildcats to the Elite Eight game.[12] On March 26, Fox only scored 13 points in a 75–73 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

    At the conclusion of his freshman season, Fox announced that he would forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft.[13]

    Professional career

    Sacramento Kings (2017–present)
    Fox (#5) watching teammate Marvin Bagley III take a free throw in March 2019.

    Rookie season (2017–18)

    On June 22, 2017, Fox was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. On July 8, 2017, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings.[14] During four games of the 2017 NBA Summer League, Fox averaged 11.8 points, 3 assists and 2.3 steals while playing 21.3 minutes per game. Fox made his NBA debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 18, 2017, against the Houston Rockets, where he scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assist in 24-plus minutes in a 105–100 loss.[15] On October 23, 2017, Fox recorded a career-high 19 points, 4 assist, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in a 117–115 loss against the Phoenix Suns. On December 8, 2017, he scored 14 points, 4 assist and 2 steals in a 116–109 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. On January 6, 2018, Fox recorded 18 points and 7 assist in a 106–98 victory over the Denver Nuggets. On January 25, 2018, Fox scored 14 points, 4 assist and a putback Slam Dunk with 3.3 seconds left giving the Sacramento Kings the lead in an 89–88 win over the Miami Heat. On January 28, 2018, Fox scored a season-high 26 points, going 6–6 from three-point range in a 15-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[16] On February 14, Fox was named Lonzo Ball's replacement for the Rising Stars Challenge.

    Second season (2018–19)

    On November 1, 2018, during a 146–115 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Fox notched his first career triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists to bring the Kings to a 6–3 record, becoming the only player after LeBron James in 2005 to score a 30-point triple double before the age of 21. Fox drastically improved during the 2018–2019 season. Not only did he improve in every major statistical category (Including his points per game from 11.6 to 17.3 and assists per game from 4.4 to 7.3), He also finished top 3 and was nominated for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, finishing second to Pascal Siakam of the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors. This improvement had been a rejuvenating feeling for the Sacramento Kings, seeing as Fox had not lived up to the initial hype in his rookie season being the 5th overall pick in 2017. [17]

    2019–20 season

    On July 31, 2020, Fox scored a career-high 39 points in a 129–120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. This was the Kings’ first game in the Orlando bubble, returning from a 4-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

    2020–21 season

    On November 25, 2020, Fox signed a contract extension with the Kings.[19]

    Career statistics
    Legend
      GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
     FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
     RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
     BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

    Regular season
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2017–18 Sacramento 736027.8.412.307.7262.84.41.0.311.6
    2018–19 Sacramento 818131.4.458.371.7273.87.31.6.617.3
    2019–20 Sacramento 514932.0.480.292.7053.86.81.5.521.1
    Career 20519030.3.451.328.7183.46.11.4.416.2

    College
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2016–17 Kentucky 363429.6.479.246.7364.04.61.5.216.7

    Player profile

    Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg), Fox has primarily played the point guard position throughout his career. He is left-handed.

    Coming out of Kentucky, Fox was highly regarded among scouts for his quickness, speed, and athleticism. These attributes combined make Fox one of the most dangerous players on the fast break and driving to the rim. He has the elite ability to explode by defenders, either finishing at the rim or distributing to a teammate. He is a high end finisher at the rim, being able to use his body control and leaping ability to finish layups and draw fouls. He is also capable at scoring off floaters or mid range pull ups while driving. Fox is considered to be an average 3 point shooter, averaging 34% for his career as of December 2019, but has shown potential to develop into a good shooter.

    Fox has also developed into a dangerous facilitator in his second season, averaging 7.3 assists per game. Most of his assists come from running the pick and roll where his playmaking versatility and dexterity allows him to either throw an alley-oop or bounce pass to the roll man or kick it outside for a jump shot on the perimeter if the defense rotates. He also generates a lot of his assists running the fast break.

    On defense, Fox can be exploited by bigger guards because of his small frame, but shows a great knack for intercepting passes and making quick rotations due to his elite quickness and 6 foot 7 inch wingspan. He is also a good on ball defender with fast, active hands that can frustrate ball-handlers and has great ability to elude and avoid screens to stay on his man.

    Personal life

    Fox was born to his parents Aaron and Lorainne Harris-Fox and has one brother named Quentin Fox. Fox goes by the nicknames “Fox”, “Swipa”, and “Swipa da Fox”. Fox chose the number zero at Kentucky because he “fears no one”, giving his original number five to teammate Malik Monk.[7] According to his high school coach, Fox would come to school at 6 AM and come to practice in the gym every morning. Fox would sleep on the couch almost every night and play the NBA 2K video game series. This, according to his father, is one of the reasons he has developed into the player that he is today.[20]

    References
    1. "De'aaron Fox". 247 Sports. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    2. "1st Team All-EYBL". D1 Circuit. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
    3. Barnett, Ja (November 29, 2015). "Top guards De'Aaron Fox, Andrew Jones put on a show at Thanksgiving Hoopfest". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
    4. "Fox, Spartans get first HSOT win". High School OT. December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
    5. "Cypress Lakes guard De'Aaron Fox still has business to finish before heading off to Kentucky". USA Today High School Sports. March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
    6. "Fox, Monk share MVP honors at 2016 Jordan Brand Classic". USA Today HSS. April 15, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    7. "De' Aaron Fox bio". Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    8. "Kentucky Men's Basketball Signs Six in Fall Signing Period". WLEX-TV. NBC. November 19, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    9. "Point guard De'Aaron Fox, No. 7 in ESPN 100, chooses Kentucky". ESPN.com. November 12, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    10. Kyle Tucker (November 29, 2016). "Kentucky Basketball: De'Aaron Fox records the storied program's elusive second triple-double". seccountry.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    11. Ammenheuser, David (March 12, 2017). "Kentucky beats Arkansas for SEC title". Tennessean. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
    12. Rosenberg, Michael (March 25, 2017). "De'Aaron Fox gets best of Lonzo Ball as Kentucky advances to Elite Eight". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    13. Kyle Boone (April 3, 2017). "NBA Draft 2017: Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox will go pro, sign with an agent". CBS Sports. CBS. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    14. "Kings sign #5 overall pick De'Aaron Fox". Www.NBA.com. July 8, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    15. Voisin, Ailene (October 19, 2017). "De'Aaron Fox stole the show in NBA debut". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    16. "Sacramento Kings at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, January 28, 2018". Retrieved May 27, 2018.
    17. https://www.lakersnation.com/kings-deaaron-fox-triple-double-lebron-james-nba-history-breaks-magic-johnson-record/2018/11/02/
    18. https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/kings/kings-wasting-deaaron-foxs-career-high-vs-spurs-tough-swallow?amp
    19. "Kings Sign De'Aaron Fox To Contract Extension". NBA.com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
    20. Reid Forgrave (February 28, 2017). "NBA Draft 2017: HOW KENTUCKY PG DE'AARON FOX IS TEACHING HIMSELF TO THINK HOOPS AT AN NBA LEVEL". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
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