Having just wrapped up his fifth NBA season, De’Aaron Fox is no longer a newcomer to the league.
And coming off his third straight season averaging at least 20 points a game, Fox is beginning to notice the subtle details and make adjustments to fine tune his game. That includes trying to draw more fouls for easy points at the free-throw line.
The Kings brought in former referees this season to help players break down clips and draw more fouls. And it has apparently paid dividends.
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Fox told NBC Sports California’s Kayte Christensen on “Beyond the Paint” that after consultation, the Kings sent in video clips to the NBA league office of plays where referees missed foul calls on Fox.
And then he coincidentally -- or not -- began getting to the line more.
“I just think we were sending in clips of me getting hacked, and refs were like, ‘Well, we probably can’t let this go on much longer,’” Fox said.
Fox said the missed calls were “just blatant fouls," but added that he doesn’t play basketball to specifically shoot free throws.
NBA
“I’ve never been one to try to manipulate the game,” Fox said. “They’ll tell me, ‘You should go into the defender here and there,’ and I'm like, ‘Well, I'm going to the basket. I'm just trying to score. I’m trying to put the ball in the basket. I’m not necessarily worried about getting fouled.’”
Fox attempted 5.9 free throws per game last season, ranking 16th in the league. His 348 total free throw attempts were a dip from the 417 he shot during the 2020-21 season, during which he played in one fewer game than this season.
Related: GM McNair, Fox aligned on Kings' biggest need this offseason
At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Fox doesn’t necessarily use his size and strength to bully his way to the free-throw line. But he is extremely quick and has a lot of opportunities to beat defenders off the dribble to the basket, where they have no choice but to foul or concede a layup.
Maybe with the benefit of working with ex-referees and pressuring the league office with hard evidence of missed calls, Fox’s free throw numbers will begin to tick up in year six.