He’s back! Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox confirms he will play against Hornets
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is back.
After missing the past 17 games with a severely sprained left ankle, Fox told The Sacramento Bee he will play against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Kings coach Luke Walton will bring Fox off the bench. Walton said Fox’s minutes will be monitored and restricted.
Fox averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds over the first nine games of the season. He suffered a grade-3 sprain at practice Nov. 11., the most severe class of ankle sprains.
Grade-3 sprains typically require four to six weeks of recovery, but some can take much longer to heal. Fox was out for five weeks. He was cleared for noncontact basketball activities Dec. 2 and told The Bee on Sunday he expected to play against the Hornets.
Fox’s injury was thought to be a devastating blow to Sacramento’s playoff hopes, but the Kings went 9-8 in his absence and won four of their last five games to move into a tie for seventh in the Western Conference.
Marvin Bagley III returned last week after missing 22 games with a broken right thumb. The Kings are now fully healthy for the first time this season. Kings coach Luke Walton did a nice job of managing his personnel while Fox and Bagley were out, but now he will need to adjust his rotation to feature two of the team’s most promising young players.
Kings upcoming schedule
Dec. 17 at Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Indiana Pacers, 4 p.m.
Dec. 21 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Dec. 23 vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m.
Dec. 26 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 2:24 PM.
