De’Aaron Fox and the young Sacramento Kings left it all on the court against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the first round of their NBA Playoff series.
Down 3-2 heading into Friday night in San Francisco, Sacramento handed the Warriors a rare home loss in the playoffs.
It set up Game 7 in California’s capital city Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for Fox and his Kings, they could not overcome an historic performance from Warriors star Stephen Curry. The two-time NBA MVP dropped 50 points in what might have been the single-best performance in NBA Playoff history given the circumstances.
One day after seeing their season come to an end via a 120-100 loss to the Warriors, De’Aaron Fox and the Kings held their exit interviews with the media. Generally, things were upbeat as a long-downtrodden Kings squad put up its best season since back in 2004-05.
As for Fox, he took time out of his day to praise the Warriors. The reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year said that he has a “tremendous amount of respect for the Warriors.” Fox then indicated that he was “glad they were able to teach us that lesson.” That is to say, Golden State showing championship moxie in the face of a hostile environment on Sunday. It’s something Fox and the Kings can learn from moving forward.
Related: Stephen Curry tops himself with record-breaking 50-point performance
Parallels between De’Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings team and the Warriors
There are a lot of parallels between the Kings’ team of 2022-23 and the Warriors squads that acted as precursors to their current dynastic run.
Back in 2012-13, a then-upstart Warriors squad handed the Denver Nuggets a shocking loss in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Golden State was the sixth seed while Denver found itself as the third seed heading into that series. It is somewhat of a coincidence that Sacramento found itself as the third seed against a No. 6. Despite this, the Kings were seen as betting underdogs against the Warriors, primarily because of Golden State’s championship pedigree.
That Warriors squad of a decade ago was led by a then-fourth-year point guard in Stephen Curry who was coming off a breakout regular season. While Fox is finishing up shop on his sixth NBA season, the coincidences are obvious.
Within two years of the Warriors seeing their 2012-13 season come to an end via a loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals, their dynastic run began.
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The respect factor
The scene inside Golden 1 Center in Sacramento following Sunday’s game was rare. De’Aaron Fox could be seen being embraced by Warriors royalty, Draymond Green and the aforementioned Curry included.
You typically don’t see teams embrace one another like this after a hard-fought series. Sure, Mike Brown’s presence as the Kings head coach after spending the past several seasons as an assistant under Steve Kerr in Golden State played a role. But it’s darn clear that the two sides have mutual respect for one another.
As for the Warriors embracing Fox after Game 7, it’s clear what was going on. Golden State’s players were attempting to lift him up after a brilliant first run in the NBA Playoffs. We’re sure there were also some words of encouragement involved.
After the game, Green took time out of his press conference to heap praise in Fox’s direction.
“I’ve lost a lot of respect for guys over the years in the playoffs. Then, there are some you gain respect for. Guys you know are cut from the same cloth you feel like you’re cut from.”
Draymond Green on De’Aaron Fox
A No. 5 pick out of Kentucky back in 2017, Fox was brilliant in Sacramento’s first-round loss to Golden State. He averaged 27.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 7.7 APG and 2.2 SPG.
For Fox and the Sacramento Kings, this was a learning experience. They are only going to get better from here.
As for the defending champion Warriors, they are now set to take on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. It promises to be a popcorn-worthy time starting Tuesday evening from San Francisco.
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