Sacramento Kings All-Star De’Aaron Fox discusses new signature shoe deal with Curry Brand
De’Aaron Fox took his name and his game to new heights last season while leading the Sacramento Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2006. Now, the 25-year-old point guard has landed a major endorsement deal that will produce his first signature shoe.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Sacramento Bee Fox was on the verge of a signature shoe deal as the Kings prepared to play their season opener against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The formal announcement came Thursday when Under Armour and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry confirmed Fox had become the first NBA player to sign an endorsement deal with Under Armour’s Curry Brand.
“Like Jordan Brand did with Nike, Steph is doing with Under Armour, and I’m the first person to be a part of that,” Fox told The Bee. “Some players wouldn’t want to be the first, especially under an active player, but for me, I think it’s more like I’m helping him build his brand, but also he’s helping me build my brand, so I feel like it’s great for both of us.”
Fox said “we’re a little ways away” from introducing his first signature shoe, but he is already working with designers. Fox previously had an endorsement deal with Nike that led to the creation of the Air Max 1 “Swipa” but that was not a signature basketball shoe.
Fox is emerging as one of the league’s most dynamic players following a 2022-23 season in which he made his first All-Star appearance and earned his first All-NBA selection. Kings forward Harrison Barnes said he is happy to see Fox gaining notoriety as one of the most elite point guards in the NBA.
“About time,” Barnes said. “I never got the Swipa 1s when they came out in the off-court shoe, and I’m still feeling some type of way about that, but I think just the player that he is … (and) also just who he is as a person, I think it’s warranted. It’s deserved. It’s a great accomplishment for him. There are only so many guys with signature shoes in this league, and I think it just shows how much work he’s put it on his game. Those type of things don’t happen unless you continue to get better every single year, continue to get better every single offseason, and I’m just proud of him.”
Fox came out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He enters his seventh NBA season with career averages of 20.2 points and 6.2 assists. He is in the third year of a five-year, $163 million contract after signing an extension with the Kings in 2020.
Fox averaged 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals last season. He helped the Kings go 48-34 to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons in Sacramento.
Fox has formed a strong partnership with Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who came to Sacramento in the February 2022 trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to the Indiana Pacers. Fox and Sabonis appeared in the All-Star Game together in Salt Lake City last season and later garnered All-NBA Third Team honors for the first time in their respective careers.
Fox, who has established himself as one of the game’s most lethal fourth-quarter scorers, was also named the winner of the inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award.
This story was originally published October 26, 2023 at 11:35 AM.
