Kings update De’Aaron Fox’s COVID-19 protocol status for Sunday’s game against Grizzlies
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox will be back in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center after clearing NBA health and safety protocols.
Fox was cleared to return Sunday morning after being listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Saturday. He has missed the past four games after becoming one of seven Kings players to enter health and safety protocols amid the biggest COVID-19 outbreak the team has experienced since the start of the pandemic.
Interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry, guard Terence Davis, forward Marvin Bagley III and forward Louis King have also been cleared to return for Sunday’s game against the Grizzlies. Gentry, 67, has missed five games since testing positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 15. Davion Mitchell, Alex Len and Neemias Queta are still out.
Gentry said the team will watch Fox, Davis and Bagley closely, but they will not be under any minutes restrictions.
“It’s all systems go,” Gentry said. “They don’t have any limitations.”
Fox, 24, is averaging 21.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in his fifth season since coming out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He is in the first year of a five-year, $163 million contract.
Davis, 24, is averaging 9.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in his second season with the Kings. He came to Sacramento after being acquired from the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline last season.
Bagley, 22, is averaging 8.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in his fourth season since coming out of Duke as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Bagley was playing well before going into the league’s protocol system, averaging 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 53.2% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range over his last eight games.
King, 22, has appeared in four games for the Kings this season, averaging 6.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game. King had his best game of the season in a 128-101 loss to the Grizzlies on Nov. 28 in Memphis, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes.
