‘He’s a warrior’: Injury forces Kings star De’Aaron Fox to leave overtime win over Lakers
The Kings were awaiting word on the severity of De’Aaron Fox’s injury after the All-NBA point guard went down in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Fox scored 37 points to lead the Kings to a 132-127 victory before a sellout crowd of 18,198 at Golden 1 Center, but he couldn’t finish the game after injuring his right ankle in the fourth quarter.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee Fox was still being examined by the team’s medical staff late Sunday night. Tests showed Fox avoided serious injury, sources said Monday morning, describing the injury as a moderate ankle sprain. Fox is expected to miss Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, and the timeline for his return will depend on how he responds to treatment.
Fox quickly returned to the game after sustaining the injury in the fourth quarter Sunday. He then ignored instructions and started the overtime session despite being told to remain on the bench, but after about 90 seconds, Kings coach Mike Brown took him out, saying he was “limping really bad.”
“(Fox) is tough as nails, man,” Brown said. “To try to show the grit that he showed and get out there to help us win a ballgame, that just speaks volumes to who he is and how much he wants to lay his body on the line to help his team.”
The Kings trailed by five with 8:31 remaining when Fox spun past D’Angelo Russell for a midrange jumper that resulted in a three-point play. He was looking to attack again moments later when he went down under the basket after stepping on Gabe Vincent’s foot and rolling his right ankle.
A hush fell over the crowd as the team’s medical staff came out to check on Fox, who stayed down for two to three minutes. Fox eventually got to his feet, limped off the floor and headed to the locker room with trainers, but he quickly returned to the bench and insisted on going back into the game.
Fox walked to the scorer’s table and checked into the game to his in-house theme music and thunderous applause. He immediately made a stepback 3-pointer to get the Kings within one. He made two free throws to put his team up 115-113 with 25.1 seconds remaining, but a driving layup by LeBron James sent the game to overtime.
Fox, who had 13 points in the fourth quarter, wasn’t supposed to stay in the game, but Brown looked over, and Fox was on the floor.
“So, I started calling him, and he’s ignoring me,” Brown said.
Brown let Fox play, but soon it was clear pain and mobility issues would prevent him from finishing the game.
“He felt he could go, so he stayed on the floor, and then when I felt he really couldn’t go, we took him out,” Brown said.
Kings guard Kevin Huerter said it was an inspiring display of resilience from the team’s leader.
“Fox is our closer,” Huerter said. “You guys saw him try to battle through it. He didn’t want to come off the court. He wasn’t supposed to start the overtime and he just kind of walked out there and told the coaches he was going to play. He’s a warrior.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 11:45 PM.
