SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings clinched a berth in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006 on Wednesday night, led by a young guard in De’Aaron Fox whose development has coincided with the Kings building into a playoff contender.
In a Thursday edition of the Locked On NBA podcast, hosts Nick Angstadt and Pat Morenzoni discussed Fox’s growth and how it has factored into Sacramento’s growth as a team.
Fox is averaging a career-high 25.2 points per game on a career-best 52 percent shooting from the field, and Sacramento’s offense is 5.2 points better per 100 possessions when he is on the court.
“I think it solidifies him as the leader of this team, I think it solidifies him as your No. 1 option,” Morenzoni said. “They thought because of what (Domantas) Sabonis did in Indiana, he was going to be the No. 1 option there in Sacramento, where this season that hasn’t been the case because of how De’Aaron Fox has played.”
While past speedsters have flamed out or failed to round out their styles, Fox has developed into a well-rounded scorer and playmaker.
“The game has slowed down, but his speed hasn’t,” Morenzoni added. “His IQ has sped up now, and now he’s able to pick teams apart, pick his spots.”
Fox is shooting an incredible 51 percent from midrange, which seems to be the final piece of his offensive arsenal to unlock the rest of his game.
“The midrange for him has been so big,” Angstadt said. “I’ve seen him pick teams apart to death in the clutch, in the midrange. Just adding that one shot … it just opens up so much more for you.
“You drive, and you have somewhere to go, and it’s not just ‘I drive to the basket and that’s it.’”
Sacramento is likely to finish as the third seed in the Western Conference and face one of the Clippers, Warriors or Suns in the first round.