thelesterlee
This season the Sacramento Kings won 48 games—good enough for the 3 seed in the West. De’Aaron Fox is mostly responsible for the Kings suddenly transforming from a laughing stock to a legit contender to make the NBA Finals.
Fox led the league in clutch points. 1 He shot 52% from the field in clutch time. When the game mattered the most, De’Aaron Fox became an elite scorer capable of beating his defender off the dribble and finishing at the rim as well as stopping on a dime and hitting mid-range jumpers.
But the regular season and the postseason are two completely different species. The entire game slows down. Every possession is the most important possession you’ll ever play. Every defensive mistake is magnified.
An entire playoffs series can be swung off someone missing their boxing out assignment and allowing a big offensive rebound that leads to a kick out to the perimeter and a dagger three that makes the home crowd lose their minds and demoralizes the visiting team.
That intensity radiated off the screen on Sunday afternoon as the Kings traveled to San Fran up 2-1 on the Golden States Warriors and looking to win their 3rd game of this series and stomp the life out of the defending champions.
Unfortunately, it did not go as planned for the Kings who lost 126-125 after being handed the final possession of the game and an opportunity for a game-winner. The Warriors doubled Fox forcing him to pass to a wide-open Harrison Barnes who, of course, bricked it.
Harrison Barnes missed the game-winner 😳 pic.twitter.com/49CPp1RV4C
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2023
But I don’t want to make fun of Harrison Barnes—yet.
Let’s look at what De’Aaron Fox did in Game 4:
- 40 minutes
- 38 points
- 14-for-31 from the field
- 9 rebounds
- 5 assists (would’ve been 6 if Harrison Barnes wasn’t Harrison Barnes)
- 1 steal
Fox’s 126 combined points from the first 4 games of this series are the most points in a 4-game playoff span in Sacramento Kings history since Oscar Robertson in the 1966 playoffs.
Incredible for Fox who is making his postseason debut to be totally fearless playing head-to-head with 2-time MVP and legend Steph Curry.
But what caught my eye the most was what happened when Fox checked in with 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Fox felt like he was elevating above his team and dictating the entire game grabbing rebounds out of the sky, hitting clutch free throws and seemingly making every jumper he took.
A sicko is someone who can turn their brain off and focus on a singular task. Someone who dedicates their life to achieving a goal and is willing to do anything and everything to achieve that goal. They’ll skip sleeping, eating, hanging out with friends, and family obligations. They have total tunnel vision and are exclusively focused on achieving greatness.
A 4th quarter playoff game on the road against a team with 4 NBA titles under their belt and Fox didn’t give a single shit. The point in the game when players get overwhelmed by the moment and make massive mental mistakes and Fox was locked in. You’ll often see players throw the ball out of bounds because the defensive pressure is too much or guys will simply be gassed from logging so many intense pressure-filled minutes.
But De’Aaron is a fucking sicko.
I promise you, I would never be able to handle the levels of pressure and expectations these players face. These guys know if they miss an open jumper, the entire NBA media is going to mock them and question why the team is paying them. Their entire careers are dissected with every single dribble in the playoffs.
Sometimes, I don’t even like posting articles because in the back of my mind, I’m thinking “What if that girl I went on like, 3 dates with back in 2016 reads this and doesn’t like it”.
I am not built for primetime with Draymond Green’s nasty breath on the back of my neck, 20,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs at me and like, my 2nd-grade teacher watching from home.
My nose is starting to bleed right now just imagining the insane levels of stress. You don’t rotate on defense in time and Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo spend 20 minutes on their podcast talking about how terrible your head coach is for giving you minutes and now the hundreds of thousands of people who listen to them all believe you suck and floor your Twitter mentions and Instagram comments calling you a bum or a clown because for one. single. split. second. you lost focus and blew an assignment.
None of the shit I just described mattered at all to Fox who hit a massive 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to bring the Kings within 1 point following Steph Curry letting the pressure get to him and calling a timeout when his team was out of timeouts which resulted in a technical foul and gave the Kings possession.
Look at that. Two dribbles and a DOT in Draymond Green’s eye for a 1-point game and a chance to win the game. Not an ounce of fear in that man’s body. He has spent hours upon hours upon hours upon hours in the gym preparing for this moment. Fox just went full sicko.
He probably saw the ball going through the bottom of the net the second it left his hands. De’Aaron Fox won the Clutch Player of the Year award for a reason. He is truly built different. I would absolutely dribble the ball off my foot and commit the most egregious foul out of frustration to send them to the free-throw line and lose the game.
I still think the Kings will win this series despite Harrison Barnes clearly still receiving paychecks from the Warriors front office and I mainly think that based on De’Aaron Fox being a sicko who will not allow the Kings to lose.
Is De’Aaron Fox the most clutch player in the NBA? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you think the Kings are about to become the next dynasty.
