Brown believes Kings’ Fox should be MVP candidate every year originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
De’Aaron Fox is backing up his breakout 2022-23 NBA season with an impressive start to the 2023-24 campaign.
The Kings star point guard is averaging 29.6 points on 48.3 percent shooting, along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists through eight games this season. And while he received All-Star and All-NBA recognition last season, Kings coach Mike Brown believes Fox has what it takes to take it a step further.
“He’s just now scratching the surface, I’m telling you,” Brown said on “The Athletic NBC Show,” which was released Tuesday. “This dude has a chance to be one of the best. In my opinion, he should be an MVP candidate every single year he steps onto the floor.”
While fans around the league slowly are waking up and tuning into the De’Aaron Fox show in Sacramento, Kings coach Mike Brown had a sneak peek of the guard before he even entered the league.
Brown revealed that he had a “cheat code” of getting to watch Fox up close during a basketball camp while the guard was in high school. The camp featured players like Bam Adebayo, Dennis Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt and more.
But among all the others — it was Fox who stood out most to Brown.
“There was probably eight first-round picks at this camp, if not more. It was ridiculous,” Brown said. “So being able to work with Foxy for three days, I kid you not, I was like, ‘This kid has a chance to be the best two-way point guard in the league when he gets there.’ His size, his strength and his quickness. He’s got this dog in him. He doesn’t talk much — but don’t poke the bear. ‘Cause when that bear comes out, he’s going to run his mouth, he’s going to hit you. He’s not afraid.
“But did I think I was ever going to coach him? Nah, you don’t really think that. But out of everybody, I was like, Whoa. Fast-forward, I get the job. And I’m like, OK, I already saw what he could do in high school, so now it’s up to me to challenge him to try to bring it out every single night for 48 minutes. And that’s going to be up to him to go get it done.”
Brown applauded the work Fox has put in since he arrived in Sacramento and sees the continued growth each and every game.
It’s early in the season, but it’s evident that the sky is the limit for Fox. And as Brown said, he’s just barely scratching the surface.