“I Don’t Crave To Be In A Big Market” - De’Aaron Fox Is Ready To Be The King Of Sacramento

(Source) – Fox’s presence in San Clemente is emblematic of his approach to opportunity in the sport and outside it. San Clemente is laid-back and near San Diego, which Fox prefers to Los Angeles. With all the movement in the NBA this offseason toward larger markets—Los Angeles and NYC/Brooklyn, in particular—Fox’s feelings on being in a big market are dampened by knowing he can find an audience anywhere.

“I don’t crave to be in a big market,” he says. “After last season, there was a buzz in Sacramento. Everyone in Sacramento is a Kings fan. If we start making the playoffs, or if we become a championship contender, the entire city is going to go nuts. That’s the difference between a big market and a small one.”

As we walk down the boardwalk, a group of teens approach Fox en masse for a selfie. He obliges, smiling, even though he’s long overdue for a nap. For most of the afternoon, though, he is unbothered by pedestrians; a cover band down the pier is drawing most of the attention. Gaston is on the phone—Russell Westbrook has just been traded to Houston, so he wants to find out who’s going where, what roster spots might still be open. Fox is on the brink of NBA superstardom and he’s surrounded by people he trusts.

This quote comes from a story about De’Aaron Fox and his preparation for this upcoming season, it’s a really interesting read about a guy who all points sign to having  breakout year this upcoming season. In the whole story though, that quote above stood out most to me because if you look at this past summer, who got rich? Big markets. Places like LA, NYC, HOU all were the talk of free agency due to star player movement, mostly all at the expense of small market teams. This isn’t exactly a new trend but instead what has almost become expected once a star player breaks out and finally has a chance to hit the market. But you get the vibe that Fox is more along the lines of another star point guard who gave the middle finger to this trend and decided to become a legend for his own small market team, Damian Lillard. It’s hard to find a more loyal superstar than Dame (we’ll see if Giannis comes through and signs his extension), but Fox may very well be on that same path.

For anyone who watched the Baby Kings start to get their footing last season, there’s no denying De’Aaron Fox has the potential to be one of if not the best point guard in the league when you look at this next generation of NBA talent. He’s a stud who is just starting to scratch the surface. His 17/3.8/7.3/1.6 on 45/37% splits last year was no joke, and remember he’s just 21 years old. It was a bummer when we learned that he was leaving Team USA because the dude is electric as hell

If I’m a Kings fan, I’m already foaming at the mouth to get next season started given the momentum of last year, and the good news is Fox is going to be in SAC for a while. He has this season, a club option for next year, and then becomes a RFA the following year. If he develops like he’s projecting to, the Kings are in a good spot until he’s at least like 26-27 years old. By then, if all these intriguing young guys on the Kings develop, he might not even have to leave to find a better situation. In today’s world you technically don’t need a big market in order to become a star, and it’s hard to find a team that has as much good young talent as SAC does. It’s pretty crazy to me that as of today this team only has 1 national televised game. What do the schedule makers have against the Kings? My guess is we’re going to see them get flexed into the NBA schedule quite often and Fox is going to be a major reason why.

Obviously time will tell if Fox has a change of heart. The talent around him may not pan out, the Kings may never take a leap and he certainly wouldn’t be the first star player to say one thing early in his career and sing a different tune years later. But right now he’s a dude who embraces the city and is ready to put the team on his back and perhaps end the Kings 13 year playoff drought. He does that, and he’s one step closer to legendary status.