Fox is Kings' ‘QB1' after Hail Mary sets up game-winning shot

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De'Aaron Fox's three-character tweet said it all Saturday night.

Not long after Harrison Barnes caught Fox's Hail Mary before launching up a turnaround, game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Sacramento's 100-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, De'Aaron Fox gave himself a new designation.

It's a fitting moniker, even though Fox admitted to reporters in his postgame video conference his throw wasn't even a 30-yard out route, with Barnes knocking down the winner 26 feet away from the basket.

Fox said he did play quarterback when he was younger, though, and he revealed he raised his hand when coach Luke Walton asked for volunteers to throw a full-court heave on the inbounds pass with 1.6 seconds remaining on the clock.

"We ended up having me take the ball out, and that was the play we drew up," Fox said. " ... We obviously didn't have any timeouts, and with little time like that, you don't want them to tip a pass. So with someone that we throw a lot of passes like that to, to where he kind of pins his guy, Harrison is the guy to [get] it to."

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Fox's importance to the Kings at this juncture rivals that of any "QB1" in the NFL. The 23-year-old scored 36 points (on 15-of-24 shooting) Saturday, dropping 30-plus for the fourth straight game. Since coming back from the All-Star break, Kyrie Irving's the only player averaging more points per game (32.6) than Fox (31.1).

The Kings are riding a four-game winning streak thanks in large part to Fox, but he made sure to give Barnes his due for draining the game-winner Saturday.

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