A Royal Pain
Fansided

Team USA Members Rave About De’Aaron Fox

By Anthony Cardenas

EL SEGUNDO, CA - AUGUST 15: De'Aaron Fox #20 looks on during the 2019 USA Men's National Team World Cup training camp at UCLA Health Training Center on August 15, 2019 in El Segundo, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
EL SEGUNDO, CA - AUGUST 15: De'Aaron Fox #20 looks on during the 2019 USA Men's National Team World Cup training camp at UCLA Health Training Center on August 15, 2019 in El Segundo, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Last season, players around the league began to take notice of De’Aaron Fox and his potential to become a superstar in the NBA. This summer’s Team USA campaign has even more heads turning to watch Fox.

The talk began last week when Bill Simmons, one of the Sacramento Kings’ harshest critics, sang the praises of Fox on an episode of his podcast. It continued this week with Team USA assistant coach Steve Kerr. When asked about Fox, Kerr gave the following quote:

"“I’ve enjoyed coaching him and watching him. He’s so talented. He’s so gifted. He’s still such a young player that he’s got a whole other level he can get to. You see him learning, you see him taking it all in, he’s very, very coachable. So a guy with that kind of talent, that kind of brain and that kind of character, he’s only going to get better.”"

Solid accolades from a guy who coaches Stephen Curry and has been around the league for 30+ years.

The praise did not stop with the coaches. His peers have been taking notice of Fox’s improvement and his blinding speed.

"“Oh my goodness,” Kemba Walker said when asked about Fox. “He is super fast. His quickness is crazy. His end-to-end speed is ridiculous. That’s scary if he’s gotten faster. The thing about him is he’s fast but really under control.”"

One of the knocks on Fox coming into the league was his mediocre-at-best shooting. After a rough rookie season, his shooting numbers increased across the board in Year 2. There has apparently been even more improvement for Fox over the summer, as Walker continued:

"“What impressed me the most is probably his shooting. He has really been knocking it down. That is what is going to take him to that next level. Like for myself entering the league, the next step for me was my jump shot. When he (Fox) consistently gets that, it will be over. It will be over, no question.”"

Marcus Smart gave his two cents on De’Aaron Fox, which were far more brief and to the point:

"“He makes fast people look not fast.”"

Team USA will make the long trip to Australia next week for a handful of exhibition games before their tournament starts in Beijing on August 31st.

Home/Kings News