The Kings' 2022-23 NBA season ended with a Game 7 loss on Sunday to the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Now that the dust had settled on their elimination, De'Aaron Fox reflected on a special year for himself and the city of Sacramento.
Fox played a significant role in helping Sacramento end its 17-year NBA playoff drought. He also won the Clutch Player of the Year award this season and became a father. As a result, it was a year the Kings star feels exemplifies a Hollywood script.
"I think it was something out of a movie with my life coming together like that," Fox told reporters on Monday. "I definitely think year 25, for me, is probably the best year that I've had in my life. I want to keep this going. I want to keep this feeling going.
"I don't know if I told [the media] this yesterday, but I was like, 'This is probably the first time that the season ended and I'm, like, upset because of the way it ended.' And we felt like we could have kept playing. We could have gotten to the second round and kept our season going."
Additionally, while Fox appreciates the lessons he and the Kings learned in their playoff series against the Warriors, the 25-year-old noted the pain of being eliminated must last heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.
"This is the first time that I actually felt like the season ending was kind of hurtful," Fox continued. "And like I said, you want that sting to last a little bit so that you don't want to feel that again. I feel like that will help you build towards the future."
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Golden State gave a first-hand lesson to Fox and the Kings now know what it takes to win a Game 7 and send a team packing.
While the learning experience was painful, many now expect Sacramento to be a Western Conference challenger for years to come with its exciting young core.