Kings’ De’Aaron Fox earned respect from Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the Warriors
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox shared a long embrace with the man of the hour after Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry delivered a showstopping, record-setting performance in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Curry produced one of the most brilliant games of his illustrious career in a 120-100 victory over the Kings, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50 points in a Game 7. When it was over, the moment between Fox and Curry — a first-time playoff performer and a four-time NBA champion — was a show of mutual respect.
“He just let me know that people know who I am now,” Fox said. “Obviously, to be able to play on this stage and perform, I don’t think I played well tonight, and I know there’s another level I have to get to as a professional and our team has to get to as well, but I’m grateful for this experience and the playoffs was everything I expected it to be.”
The Warriors will go on to seek their fifth NBA championship in nine years. The Kings will be back next season, battled tested and ready for another playoff run.
“This is definitely a building block,” Fox said. “Obviously, being able to play a team like this, who we all have tremendous respect for, who’ve been there (and) done that, it’s definitely just something that you build on. We had a good season. We were the third seed. We stayed relatively healthy.
“I think playing against this team in the first round was a blessing and a curse. You could learn a lot. You’re not the favorite to win. We fought every game, but they did what champions do.”
Curry averaged 33.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 0.9 steals in the series for the Warriors, who will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals beginning Tuesday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Fox averaged 27.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.1 steals for the Kings, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2006. Fox scored 38 points in Games 1 and 4 before playing the last three games of the series with an avulsion fracture of the left index finger on his shooting hand.
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Warriors forward Draymond Green also showed respect for Fox. Green became the villain in this series when he stomped on Domantas Sabonis’ chest in Game 2, drawing a one-game suspension from the league. Fox confronted Green when he hit Kings rookie Keegan Murray in the eye in Game 4, but they shared a lighter moment following Sunday’s series finale.
“There are a lot of playoff series against a lot of different guys, and if I’m honest, you leave most with less respect for a lot of guys,” Green said. “Whether it’s how they act in a moment, how they step up to the pressure, I’ve lost a lot of respect for guys over the years in the playoffs. And then there are some that you gain respect for. There are some that you see, and you know they’re cut from that same cloth you feel like you’re cut from. And Fox is one of those guys, so I just paid my respect, man.
“Hard-fought battle. Obviously, he’s on the wrong end of it, but we’ve been there before. I’ve been to a Game 7 and lost in the first round. I was my second year in the league we did that against the Clippers. You have to go through that to ultimately reach where you want to go, and so I was really just showing my love and respect for him as a competitor. I was honored to compete against him.”
Fox, who made his first All-Star appearance this season, led the Kings to 48 wins and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference this season, ending the franchise’s NBA-record 16-year playoff drought. After winning 32 games last season, the Kings staged a remarkable turnaround under first-year coach Mike Brown, the first unanimous selection as NBA Coach of the Year in league history.
“We’re still a relatively young team,” Fox said. “I feel like we learned a lot this series, and like I said, that’s why this is a blessing and a curse to play against this team in the first round. We learned a lot and you just try to build off that.
“This is a lot of our first times in the postseason. You got a taste of it. You got to feel what it was like to play against a team who’s a championship contender just about year in and year out. You take that and you build off of it.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 11:35 AM.
