De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

before being selected 5th overall by the Kings in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

High school career

Fox attended

Cypress Lakes High School Cypress Lakes High School is a secondary school located in an unincorporated area in Harris County, Texas, near Houston and with a Katy postal address. Cypress Lakes, originally named Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District High School ...

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

. As a junior, he averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. During the summer, Fox d Houston Hoops on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

Circuit (EYBL) where he earned EYBL first-team honors. On November 29, Fox scored 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 68–53 victory over MacArthur. On December 28, Fox put up 31 points and 6 assists in a 91–81 victory against

Jay M. Robinson High School Jay M. Robinson High School, often referred to as Robinson, JMR, or JRob by students, is a comprehensive public high school located in Concord, North Carolina. It is the fifth high school of the Cabarrus County Schools system, opening its doors i ...

. As a senior, Fox averaged 32.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. In January 2016, Fox was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

and played in the

2016 McDonald's All-American Game The 2016 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star game, All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at the United Center in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Bulls. The game's rosters features the best and ...

on March 30. In April, Fox played in the 2016

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

, leading the East team to a 131–117 win while earning Co-MVP honors alongside Kentucky teammate

Malik Monk Malik Ahmad Monk (born February 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus ...

. Fox then competed at the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

Games. He made the 2015–16 USA Men's Basketball Men's Junior Team in September 2015. He was also invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp. Throughout his high school career, Fox led Cypress Lakes to three state playoff appearances including a regional final appearance his senior year, and twice scored 50 points in a single game.

Recruiting

Fox was the nation's second best point guard behind

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earni ...

. He was rated as a five-star ranked and ranked the consensus No. 6 overall recruit in the Class of 2016 by the four main recruiting services:

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, and

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

. He committed to Kentucky on November 12, 2015, live on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

. He chose Kentucky over

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

College career

On November 13, 2016, Fox recorded 21 points and 3 assists during a 93–69 victory over

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

at the Bluegrass Showcase. Six days later, he posted 16 points and 6 assists to defeat

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

, 93–69. In a game against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

on November 28, he recorded a triple double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists; this made Fox only the second Wildcat in the history of Kentucky basketball to record one after Chris Mill in 1988. On January 7, 2017, Fox scored 27 points to go along with 6 assists in a 97–71 victory over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He tallied 21 points and 5 assists to defeat

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

, 88–81, on January 17. On February 18 that year, Fox scored 16 points and dished out 5 assists to help the Wildcats defeat the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

. On March 4, Fox scored 19 points in a 71–63 win over

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Kentucky would go on to defeat

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in the quarterfinals and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the semi-finals. On March 12, Fox scored 18 points in an 82–65 win over

in the

SEC tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

in addition earning SEC Tournament MVP honors. On March 17, Fox scored 19 points and 3 assists to defeat

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

in the first round of the NCAA tournament. On March 19, Fox scored 14 points to defeat

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

65–62 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On March 24, In a Sweet 16 matchup against the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, Fox scored 39 points to advance the

to the Elite Eight game. On March 26, Fox only scored 13 points in a 75–73 loss to the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

. At the conclusion of his freshman season, Fox announced that he would forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2017–present)

Early years (2017–2019)

On June 22, 2017, Fox was selected with the fifth overall pick in the

by the

. On July 8, 2017, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings. During four games of the 2017 NBA Summer League, Fox averaged 11.8 points, 3 assists and 2.3 steals while playing 21.3 minutes per game. Fox made his NBA debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 18, 2017, against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, where he scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assist in 24-plus minutes in a 105–100 loss. On October 23, 2017, Fox recorded a career-high 19 points, 4 assist, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in a 117–115 loss against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. On December 8, 2017, he scored 14 points, 4 assist and 2 steals in a 116–109 win against the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. On January 6, 2018, Fox recorded 18 points and 7 assist in a 106–98 victory over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. On January 25, 2018, Fox scored 14 points, 4 assist and a putback

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

with 3.3 seconds left giving the

the lead in an 89–88 win over the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. On January 28, 2018, Fox scored a season-high 26 points, going 6–6 from three-point range in a 15-point loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. On February 14, Fox was named

's replacement for the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...

. On November 1, 2018, during a 146–115 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Fox notched his first career triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists to bring the Kings to a 6–3 record, becoming the only player after

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

in 2005 to score a 30-point triple double before the age of 21. Fox drastically improved during the 2018–2019 season. Not only did he improve in every major statistical category (Including his points per game from 11.6 to 17.3 and assists per game from 4.4 to 7.3), He also finished top 3 and was nominated for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, finishing second to

Pascal Siakam Pascal Siakam (born 2 April 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Siakam played college basketball for the New Mexico State Aggies and was named the Western At ...

Franchise player (2019–present)

On July 31, 2020, Fox scored a career-high 39 points in a 129–120 loss to the

. This was the Kings’ first game in the Orlando bubble, returning from a 4-month hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 25, 2020, Fox signed a contract extension with the Kings. On February 8, 2021, Fox was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career averaging 31 Points & nearly 9 assists while winning all 4 games on the first week of February. On March 26, 2021, Fox scored a career-high 44 points on 16-of-22 from the field in a 141–119 victory over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On March 29, 2021, Fox was once again named Player of the Week for the second time during Week 14. Fox averaged nearly 37 points & 5 assists per game while shooting 64% from the field over the 4 games, all ending in victories for the Kings. On March 5, 2022, Fox tied his career-high with 44 points on 18-for-31 shooting in a 114–113 loss against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. On March 12, Fox had 41 points and a season-high 11 assists in a 134–125 loss against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. On November 5, 2022, Fox put up 37 points, alongside a buzzer-beating, game-winning three, in a 126–123 overtime win over the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

Career statistics