At times, it looked like De’Aaron Fox was the best player on the floor in the first-round playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. With no answer for Fox, the Kings’ point guard took over at times, especially down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Despite dropping the series to the Warriors with a loss at home in Game 7, Fox earned the respect of Draymond Green in his first playoff series. After Game 7 on Sunday, the four-time champion praised Fox, saying he was honored to compete against the Kings All-Star guard.
I just paid my respect. I’ve been in a lot of playoff series against a lot of different guys. And if I’m honest, you leave most with less respect for a lot of guys. Whether it’s how they act in the moment — how they step up to the pressure. I’ve lost a lot of respect for guys over the years in the playoffs. And then there’s some you gain respect for. There’s some you see and you know they’re cut from that same cloth you feel like you’re cut from and Fox is one of those guys.
Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter:
Draymond says De'Aaron Fox earned a lot of respect in this series 💯 pic.twitter.com/Hg9M7Z2Hsi
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 30, 2023
Fox proved why he earned the NBA’s new Clutch Player of the Year award with a pair of 38-point performances. On the way to pushing the Warriors to a seven-game series, Fox averaged 27.4 points on 42.4% shooting from the field with 7.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 38.5 minutes per game.
Along with earning his first trip to the All-Star game. Fox helped lead the Kings to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 48-34 record. In his sixth season in the NBA, the former Kentucky Wildcats guard averaged 25 points on 51.2% shooting from the field with 6.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.
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