De’Aaron Fox a favorite to win first Clutch Player of the Year Award

The Sacramento Kings continue to win games as the NBA season progresses and day by day they are forcing rival teams to take them very seriously. While there are multiple reasons for the team’s turnaround this year, none stand out more than the performance of point guard De’Aaron Fox.

Mike Brown has been crucial as the team’s new head coach and Domantas Sabonis has been brilliant in every way possible. There’s also the presence of Harrison Barnes and his consistent scoring night in and night out.

The list can go much longer on why the Kings are turning things around so quickly but we’re here to highlight the most crucial thing thru the team’s first 43 games. That is the evolution of De’Aaron Fox into one of the NBA’s most lethal closers.

Everything else is important, but the Kings simply wouldn’t be winning many of these games if it weren’t for the clutch performances by Fox. Now, it seems like the rest of the NBA world is noticing just how spectacular he has been in the most crucial moments.

De’Aaron Fox a frontrunner to win ‘Clutch Player of the Year Award’

For the first time ever, the NBA will give out the Clutch Player of the Year Award at the end of the season. The trophy is The Jerry West Trophy and it will go to the player who best came through for his teammates in the clutch.

Recently, the first rankings for the award were published by Shaun Powell of NBA.com. In his Clutch Player ladder, it’s none other than the Kings De’Aaron Fox sitting at the number one spot.

There is still a lot of season left and things can change quickly with this kind of award. One of the NBA’s MVP candidates, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, is number two on the list.

It’s obvious that Fox has to be among the frontrunners right now but seeing this recognition of his season so far is exciting for all Kings fans. The stats back up his ranking and if recent play is anything to go off of, Fox is going to continue pushing for this accolade.

Only Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan has scored more clutch points this season than Fox. DeRozan has done so while shooting a nice 48.6 percent in these moments. Fox has been next-level efficient, though, shooting an incredible 59.4 percent in clutch moments. That number stands well above anyone else who has taken a significant amount of shots in clutch moments of games.

Things are different this year in Sacramento. If De’Aaron Fox continues to fuel ‘Light the Beam’ chants across NBA arenas, he just might take home the first-ever Clutch Player of the Year Award.

That would be an incredible honor and would lock his name into the NBA history books. Only time will tell, but until proven otherwise, one could argue Fox is the NBA’s best closer right now.