De'Aaron Fox Out for Kings vs. Bulls with Hamstring Injury
January 7, 2021
Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox was ruled out for the remainder of Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls with right hamstring tightness, per James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area.
The 23-year-old dealt with ankle, abdominal and back injuries last season. He also suffered an ankle injury during a July practice at the NBA's bubble in Orlando, Florida, where the Kings were gearing up for the 2019-20 season's restart.
Fox was durable during his first two seasons in the league after Sacramento selected him with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft, appearing in 73 games as a rookie and 81 games in 2018-19. He played in only 51 games last season.
When healthy, the University of Kentucky product is perhaps the primary reason for long-term optimism in Sacramento.
Fox helped put the Kings in position to earn an invite to Orlando for the 2019-20 season's restart and averaged 21.1 points, 6.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 32.0 minutes. He can blow past defenders off the bounce and either finish at the rim himself or set teammates up for open looks.
He has followed up with 20.6 points, 6.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game in the early going in 2020-21.
It is difficult to envision Sacramento challenging for a playoff spot without Fox on the floor, but it will likely turn toward Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes to generate more offense in the meantime.
Look for Tyrese Haliburton and Cory Joseph to see more time at point guard as well.