De'Aaron Fox named to NBA All-Star Game as injury replacement
De’Aaron Fox is officially an NBA All-Star.
After just narrowly missing out on the original cut as a reserve pick last week, the former Kentucky Wildcat turned Sacramento Kings point guard worked his way in as an injury replacement. Fox was one of three players added to the roster on Friday that will play in next weekend’s 2023 NBA All-Star Game, joining Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors).
With Fox now heading to Salt Lake City, he’ll be the fourth one-time Wildcat set to play in the All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 19. The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), and Julius Randle (New York Knicks) were all voted in as All-Star reserves.
This will be the first All-Star appearance for Fox, who is in his sixth NBA season at 25 years old. The 6-foot-3 point guard is having a career year with the Kings, averaging 24.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 33.7 minutes per game. He’s also shooting the ball better than ever, converting on a career-high 50.4 percent of his overall shots. Most notably, Sacramento (31-23; third-best in the Western Conference) is on pace to make the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06, which would end the longest all-time postseason drought in NBA history (16 years).
Fox is now one of two Kings players who will participate in the All-Star Game, joining his teammate Domantas Sabonis, who made it in as a reserve. Those two have created a dominant duo in Sacramento, helping the franchise boast the league’s second-best offensive rating (118.1).
For the first time ever, the actual All-Star Game rosters will be drafted right before the action is set to begin. LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Giannis Antetokunmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), the leading fan vote-getters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, will make the selections live on TNT/TBS. The draft will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19 with the All-Star Game to follow.
Fox family welcomes new baby to the world
Putting his first-ever All-Star bid aside, it’s been a rather significant start to the month of February for the Fox family. He and his wife, Reece, recently welcomed newborn baby Reign (who was very appropriately dressed in a fox-themed onesie) to the world on Feb. 3.
Fox posted the news to his Instagram page earlier this week.
Light that beam, Kings fans.
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