Sacramento Kings star guard De’Aaron Fox helped his team close out the first two games of their first-round NBA Playoff series against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
The former Kentucky star and No. 5 overall pick outplayed two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry in the clutch during those two games.
Anyone who has followed the upstart Kings shouldn’t be surprised by this. Fox has been the most-clutch player in the Association all season. That has now been made official with the league announcing Tuesday evening that Fox has earned the first ever NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award.
Miami Heat star wing Jimmy Butler finished second in the voting. Chicago Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan finished third in voting.
As it relates to De’Aaron Fox, he was a go-to guy for Sacramento when things got tight late during the regular season.
Fox, 25, finished first in the NBA in clutch points. He shot 52.9% in these situations while ranking first in fourth quarter points. In fact, Fox posted the most clutch points in the NBA since LeBron James back in 2018.
“Clutch time is defined as minutes when the scoring margin is within 5 points with five or fewer minutes remaining in a game,” NBA definition of clutch time.
De’Aaron Fox has the Sacramento Kings on the verge of history
Sacramento’s Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors Monday night sets the stage for an absolutely massive matchup Thursday evening in San Francisco.
For the first time during the Warriors’ dynasty, they find themselves down 2-0 in a playoff series. All of this comes with the Kings have earned their first playoff appearance since all the way back in 2005-06. And in reality, Fox is among the primary reasons they are in this situation.
- De’Aaron Fox stats (2023 NBA Playoffs): 31.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, 46% shooting, 33% 3-point
Through these first two game, Fox has outplayed Curry in nearly every way possible. It has Sacramento thinking first-round upset and the end of what has been a near decade-long Warriors dynasty.