Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox addresses injury after 7-turnover game vs. Clippers
Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox is playing with two fingers heavily wrapped together after injuring his hand during training camp.
Fox recently told The Sacramento Bee he dislocated the pinkie finger on his left shooting hand. Fox said he might be dealing with ligament damage that would take four weeks to heal.
Fox was asked about the injury before and after Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Before the game, he told The Bee: “It is what it is.”
Fox repeated that line after scoring 31 points while uncharacteristically committing seven turnovers with zero assists in a 107-98 loss to the Clippers at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“It is what it is,” Fox said. “I can’t really do much about it. I’m not really going to have a month off or anything. I’m able to play, so I’m out there.”
There aren’t many off days on the NBA calendar. The Kings (5-4) will visit the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
The injury seems to be effecting Fox in different ways at different times. He was shooting nearly 37% from 3-point range before going 0 of 11 in an overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 2. He went 12 of 20 from the field and 2 of 5 from beyond the arc against the Clippers.
Fox said he is learning to play through the discomfort. He is averaging 24.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 47.9% from the field, 30% from 3-point range and 86.5% at the free-throw line, well above his career high of 78% in 2022-23.
Fox has good shooting nights and bad shooting nights. He went 11 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 1 before going 8 of 22 overall and 0 of 11 from long distance the next night against the Raptors.
“I can’t say (the finger) is the reason,” Fox recently told The Bee. “I’ve had games where I’ve shot it well and I’ve had games where I haven’t. I just got to get used to.”
Fox recorded 11 assists with only two turnovers in the season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he had five or more turnovers in four of Sacramento’s first nine games, averaging a career-high 4.1 turnovers per game. A wizard with the ball who rarely loses his dribble while penetrating defenses with jaw-dropping speed, skill and stop-and-go moves, Fox seems to be losing the ball in traffic more than he normally would.
Fox came out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He never averaged more than 3.1 turnovers in his first seven seasons.
Fox earned his first All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selections while helping the Kings end their 16-year playoff drought in 2022-23. Last season, he averaged a career-high 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 36.9% from 3-point range and leading the league in steals.
Fox reportedly turned down a three-year, $165 million contract extension over the summer. He could command a more lucrative deal next summer with the possibility of a four-year, $229 million max extension or a five-year, $345 million supermax deal if he is an All-NBA selection this season.
