How good has De’Aaron Fox been behind the scenes in Sacramento?
Early in camp Nemanja Bjelica said Fox looked “powerful.” Even opposing executives believe Fox is ready for a breakout season.
On Monday afternoon, veteran Cory Joseph took it a step further.
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“He’s going to take a huge leap, a huge leap,” Joseph said. “I believe he could be an All-Star this year. We’re going to need him to make that leap.”
Coach Luke Walton plans to turn up the tempo to play to Fox’s strength, which is one of the reasons Joseph is so confident in his young point guard.
“With the pace increasing and how we’ve been playing I think it only benefits him, and our team, but obviously him,” Joseph said. “He’s one of the fastest, if not, the fastest [player] in this league. I see it everyday in practice and I haven’t seen anything like it.”
Joseph is known around the league for his defensive prowess. He’s entering his 10th season in the NBA and had an opportunity to play with and against the greatest guards in the game.
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This is Joseph’s second season working as Fox’s primary backup and he’s had the opportunity to watch the 23-year-old grow both on and off the court.
While making the All-Star team in the Western Conference will be a tough pull for Fox, he has the potential to be special, which was on full display in the bubble last season.
Fox clearly doesn’t need to tout his abilities, he has his very own hype man in Joseph.
“He’s going to take us for a ride and we’re going to be there fighting together,” Joseph said. “He’s going to take a hell of a leap this year, I can promise you guys that.”
It’s a team game, but the Kings are going to go as far as Fox takes them this season. The experts aren’t buying into the team’s potential, but if they can get out and run with Fox leading the way, the team has a chance to recapture some of the magic from the 2018-19 season.
Fox struggled with his 3-point shot during the preseason, but he’s worked tirelessly to improve as a shooter and there is hope he’ll find his stroke once the season starts for real on Wednesday.
“Really it’s just missing short, being able to get the ball up,” Fox said. “It’s just something that I’m pretty much focusing on right now.”
Fox is still finding his legs, like plenty of other players in the league. He worked out hard during the offseason with a focus on improving his perimeter shot, but with the coronavirus pandemic limiting player interactions, there was very little opportunity to play full court, five-on-five basketball.
This is a big season for Fox. It’s his final year playing under his rookie scale contract before starting a five-year, $163 million contract extension next year. Expectations are only going to go up from here.