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Sacramento Kings: Does De’Aaron Fox Deserve A Higher Ranking In ESPN’s Top 100?

By Anthony Cardenas

SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 12: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings talks to referee James Capers #19 at Golden 1 Center on January 12, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 12: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings talks to referee James Capers #19 at Golden 1 Center on January 12, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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De’Aaron Fox is ranked in the top 25 on ESPN’s Top 100 Players list. Is this placement too high or too low?

ESPN continued their countdown of the top 100 NBA players for the upcoming season on Wednesday, and third-year Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox finally made his appearance on the list.

Fox came in number 25, a huge jump from being unranked last season. At 21 years old, he is one of the youngest players to be ranked in the top 25, behind Luka Doncic (16) who is just 20.

Fox’s placement on ESPN’s list is debatable, but to us, it seems just about right. He struggled mightily two seasons ago when he was a rookie and has just a one-season sample size as a potential top-tier player. This would typically affect players rankings on lists like these, so it bodes well that ESPN’s experts are high on Fox.

Coming in one spot behind Fox is a player who finished higher than him in the Most Improved Player voting. D’Angelo Russell had slightly better numbers than Fox across the board last season, brought his team to the playoffs, and made the All-Star team (albeit in an inferior conference). But the uncertainty of Russell’s situation may be the reason that Fox comes in ahead of him on the list.

The player just ahead of Fox on the list in an interesting study. Mike Conley has been one of the most underrated point guards of the last decade, and finds himself in a favorable situation this year in Utah. It has been reiterated that ESPN’s rankings are based on predictions for the upcoming season, and because of this, Conley arguably deserves to be slightly ahead of Fox. He is one of the most important pieces on a team that could finish in the top 4 in a brutal Western Conference.

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Other players finishing behind Fox are Jamal Murray, Trae Young, and Devin Booker. Those in front of him include Blake Griffin, Pascal Siakam, and Jimmy Butler.

Fox is undoubtedly the highest-ranked Sacramento King for this season, who was joined on the Top 100 list by teammates Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley earlier in the week.

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