De’Aaron Fox injury update as Kings prepare for national TV showdown with New York Knicks
The Kings are optimistic All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox will be available for Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks at Golden 1 Center.
Fox was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and indicated the sore hamstring that kept him out of Monday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans is no longer an issue.
“I participated in practice just to make sure I was ready to go for tomorrow,” Fox said. “I feel good. If I were still feeling the hamstring, I probably wouldn’t play.”
Sacramento coach Mike Brown said Fox could have played Monday if it were a playoff game, but the team opted to play it safe given the team had two days off between games.
“He’s most likely to go, obviously,” Brown said. “Obviously he’s got to get with our medical people and he’ll be evaluated come tomorrow, but he’ll most likely play tomorrow.”
Fox missed Monday’s 123-108 victory over Pelicans, his second in four games after sitting out Feb. 28 in Oklahoma City with a sore left wrist. His replacement in the starting lineup Monday, Davion Mitchell, scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting with six assists. Kevin Huerter paced Sacramento with 25 points while making 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Fox last played in the Kings’ loss Saturday to the Minnesota Timberwolves when his eight-game streak of 30-point games was snapped. He finished with 25 points and seven assists. For the season, the first-time All-Star is averaging a career-best 25.5 points per game on 51.5% shooting, which would be the first time he’s eclipsed 50% for an entire year.
The Kings (38-26) took over the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference when the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. The teams share the same record and are 2-2 against each other, but the Kings would win the tiebreaker with a better record against Western Conference teams.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 1:23 PM.
