‘Just the beginning’: Kings stars De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis share spotlight on ESPN
ESPN shined a spotlight on the Beam Team on Tuesday when “NBA Today” brought Kings stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis into its studio with Malika Andrews, Chiney Ogwumike, Jalen Rose and Matt Barnes.
Andrews handled the introductions, explaining to a national audience that Fox and Sabonis were the first Kings teammates to earn Western Conference Player of the Week honors in the same season since 2004-05.
“The Beam Team is in the building,” Andrews said. “De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, gentlemen, thank you so much for stopping by ‘NBA Today.’”
ESPN invited Fox and Sabonis into its Los Angeles studios to discuss Sacramento’s success as the Kings prepared to visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings (24-18) are first in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference. They are six games over .500 for the first time since April 2006 with a chance to go seven games over for the first time since the end of the 2004-05 season, when they finished 50-32.
Fox said the Kings still have room for improvement.
“I think we’re still a new team, to be honest,” Fox said. “… We’re still learning each other. What we’re doing offensively is great, but we know we have to be better defensively, but I think that comes with time and chemistry, so I think we’re getting better as a team.”
Sabonis concurred.
“I feel like he’s right,” Sabonis said. “The more we’ll play together, I feel like it’s just the beginning. We’re a new team. Six, seven new players starting the season, a new coaching staff, so the more we get a feel for each other, the more games we play, it’s definitely going to be a lot easier for us.”
Fox and Sabonis walked the “NBA Today” crew through Pistol 5, one of their signature offensive sets, describing some of the options the set offers with Fox and Sabonis surrounded by shooters like Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray. Rose pointed out that Fox and Sabonis are both left-handed players who like to attack from the right side of the floor while Matt Barnes praised Kings general manager Monte McNair for assembling the roster.
Fox and Sabonis also sat down for a fun question-and-answer session with Andrews, who asked about their relationship, their individual achievements and their future together.
Andrews mentioned Sabonis as a possible MVP candidate, noting he is the first player since former MVPs Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Nikola Jokic to average over 19.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in a season.
“If we keep winning games, there’s no doubt that he should definitely be in that discussion,” Fox said.
Andrews also mentioned Fox as a candidate for the first-ever Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year Award. Sabonis endorsed Fox, who has established himself as one of the NBA’s most lethal fourth-quarter scorers.
“If you look through all of our games, most of the time, we’re tied in the fourth and he just takes over,” Sabonis said. “I don’t know what it is. I always tell him, ‘It’s fourth quarter. Come on. Lead us home.’”
Fox said he hasn’t thought about the possibility of winning the award, but he knows he has Sabonis’ support.
“I could be struggling through the first three quarters and he’ll come up to me like, ‘This is your time. We need you. This is where you have to step up and do what you’re supposed to do.’ When you have an All-Star and a guy who I think should be on an All-NBA team giving you that type of confidence at the end of a game, the least I can do is deliver and shoot the shots they want me to shoot.”
Sabonis talked about how Fox “let’s me be me … and I let him do his thing.”
Fox added: “I feel like we complement each other, and, honestly, we’re still getting better.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 10:41 AM.
