Aside from DeMarcus Cousins, it has been a long time since any Sacramento Kings player was in the top ten at his position. Does De’Aaron Fox fall in that category?
In today’s NBA, the most stacked position around the league is undoubtedly the point guard. Many of the stars of today’s game are the players bringing up the ball and initiating the offense, and this is especially true in the Western Conference. So where does Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox rank among them?
Coming in to last season, Fox was barely on anyone’s radar. He was coming off of a lackluster rookie season and was the leader of a Kings team that had yet to prove much of anything. However, after a sophomore campaign in which he finished third in Most Improved Player voting, Fox is arguably a top-ten NBA point guard.
Arguably. So let’s argue.
PGs Ahead Of Fox
Fox is not yet in the upper echelon of point guards. This is a tier that is reserved for the best of the best: guys with multiple all-star appearances, deep playoff runs, and championship rings. Interestingly, most of these guys play in the West, and will likely delay any potential all-star appearances for Fox.
Stephen Curry is a three-time champion, two-time MVP and will look to add to his hardware this season. Russell Westbrook is one of the league’s premier players, and his statistical resume speaks for itself. He finds himself in a new situation, having been traded to the Houston Rockets to team up with James Harden, who we removed from this list because of his predicted shift to shooting guard.
If he plays well enough and up to his potential, two guys that Fox could potentially surpass within the next couple of seasons are Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard. Irving is a proven champion and has some of the best handles the NBA has ever seen, while Lillard is as clutch as they come and puts up great numbers in a Western Conference full of elite guards.
For now, Fox rests comfortably behind these four. To make it in to the top tier of point guards in today’s NBA would require years of improvement and resume building, and Fox is just getting started.