De’Aaron Fox is leaving the Sacramento Kings. But you’ll still see his jersey worn in the city
De’Aaron Fox’s jersey was still on display, Monday morning, at the front of the Sacramento Kings team store in the Downtown Commons. A mannequin donned his No. 5 in the front display window of the Lids store across from Golden 1 Center.
But a few doors down at the apparel store Phenom, Fox’s name and number were no longer in the row of signed jerseys that hung above the register. Store Manager Kinny Thammavong said he’d taken the jersey down over the weekend, about an hour after news broke that the team had traded Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.
“I didn’t want to walk into work Monday and look at it and be sad,” Thammavong said.
When players leave teams, their merchandise typically dips in price. But it doesn’t necessarily disappear — and when they eventually leave the game altogether, their jerseys can see a boost in value.
Local merchandise sellers said Fox’s legacy here assures that No. 5 will be worn by fans at games and around Sacramento for years to come. He may eventually join the ranks of legacy players whose jerseys rise in value 10 or 15 years after their departure from a team.
‘A good breakup’
Players’ exits sting at first, said Mike Lee, who works at Capital Agenda, a local lifestyle store and barbershop that sells throwback jerseys of retired players. But the lasting reputation can be good, if a player leaves on decent terms.
“I kind of consider this a good breakup,” Lee said. “It didn’t last too long in the media. They got a deal done right away.”
Fox earned his share of goodwill among Kings fans when he helped bring the team to the playoffs in the 2022-23 season, ending a 16-year drought, the longest in NBA history. But recently Fox signaled that he was open to leaving Sacramento. He had reportedly turned down a three-year $165-million-contract extension with the Kings at the start of this season. Over the weekend, news broke that the Kings were making a three-team trade to acquire Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko and six draft picks and send Fox to the Spurs.
Sacramentans continue to wear the jerseys of Chris Webber and Jason Williams, though neither ended their career with the Kings and they retired in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Williams’ jersey will sell forever in Sacramento, Lee said. Whenever Capital Agenda has gotten them in stock, they have sold out.
“I think in 10, 15 years, Fox will be up there with those legends,” said Arjun Dhillon, a longtime Kings fan who owns a sneaker store, Select, near the arena. “He was our star player for such a long time that even though the ending was a little sour, over time people are going to forget about how it ended, and remember what happened while he was here. His game was entertaining. The fans loved him.”
Last year Fox was among the 15 players with the highest jersey sales in the NBA.
Fans won’t soon forget, Thammavong said, that Fox helped the Kings end the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
“There’s still big love for Fox here,” Thammavong said.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM.
