The chatter surrounding the Kings heading into the 2022-23 NBA season predictably was all about their 16-year playoff drought. Kings fans know the narrative all too well.
But as Christmas morning approaches, those same Kings fans couldn’t have fathomed having their stockings stuffed with a 17-win team currently in sixth place in the Western Conference heading into Friday night’s clash against the Washington Wizards.
It’s now realistic for this team to set a goal to avoid the play-in tournament altogether and claim a top-six seed in the West.
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SIGN UP HERE The biggest reason for this jump in progression of general manager Monte McNair’s long-term plan -- aside from the glorious purple victory beam, of course -- is the pairing of stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox.
“Stars” is the most accurate way to describe them both as of now. But the Kings are hoping both players will receive deserved All-Star recognition when the NBA heads to Salt Lake City, Utah, in February.
“I know we keep talking about the big fella, Domas Sabonis being an All-Star, but we’ve got to keep that same energy for De’Aaron Fox, too,” NBC Sports California’s Morgan Ragan said while analyzing the guard’s All-Star potential. “De’Aaron Fox just turned 25 years old and is playing some of his best basketball this season.”
Fox is, indeed, thriving under new coach Mike Brown. The guard is averaging 23.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds across 27 games this season. Fox always has put up big numbers, but he’s discovered a newfound efficiency to his game by shooting a career-best 49.8 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from downtown. That’s his best clip from the perimeter since his second NBA season (37.1 percent), all while flicking up two more attempts per game now compared to 2018-19.
NBA
Among the 36 players averaging over 20 points per game and attempting more than five 3-pointers per contest, Fox ranks fifth in field-goal percentage behind Lauri Markkanen, Karl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell and Steph Curry.
Ragan, the host of Kings Pregame and Postgame Live on NBC Sports California, worked multiple games at the G League Showcase in Las Vegas this past week and spoke with notable NBA sources about Fox and the Kings.
“They are saying if the Kings are at least fifth in the Western Conference, then they’ve got two All-Stars on their squad,” Ragan said. “... He’s a huge reason for this team’s success. And if he keeps playing the way he started this season, De’Aaron Fox is absolutely an All-Star.”
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The Kings haven’t been represented in the NBA All-Star Game since center DeMarcus Cousins took three straight trips to the annual showcase from 2015-17. They’ve only had five different players be named All-Stars since the turn of the century.
As All-Star fan voting began Tuesday, the double-double machine Sabonis appears likely to don the Kings uniform in Utah. But Fox shouldn’t book any vacations for All-Star Weekend, either.