Mr. 4th Quarter: Fox closing in on Sac-Era 4th quarter scoring record
Feb 13, 2023, 5:53 PM | Updated: 6:04 pm
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Coming up big in late-game situations isn’t new to De’Aaron Fox.
If you look back at the guard’s body of work from his rookie season, that should be enough proof that Fox has been hitting big shot after big shot for nearly six years.
During the 2017-18 season, Fox had several late-game highlights that Sacramento Kings fans still reflect on to this day, including a put-back, game-winning dunk in Miami, a go-ahead jumper with 13 seconds left that gave the Kings a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, and two over-time-forcing buzzer beaters against the Heat and Brooklyn Nets.
Since the day he put on a Kings jersey, Fox has shown he has the clutch gene, which has been at the forefront of the guard’s All-Star campaign this season.
After 16 seasons of disappointment for the Kings franchise, Fox and fellow All-Star center Domantas Sabonis have acted–in Sacramento head coach Mike Brown’s words–as the engine behind an impressive 32-24 start to the season (third in the Western Conference standings).
Fox, in his sixth NBA season, has emerged as one of the league’s best guards as the 25-year-old holds averages of 24.6 points, 4.3 rebounds (career-high), 6.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.
If those numbers sound noteworthy, it’s because they are. Fox is one of four players this season to average 24+ points and 6+ assists per game while shooting 50 percent or better from the field, joining a few names that you may have heard of:
LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, and Luka Dončić. All-Star company for an All-Star player.
Fox has emerged as the front-runner for the NBA’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year Award–also called the Jerry West Trophy–as the Kings guard continues to answer when called upon in late-game situations.
Time and time again this season, Fox has taken control of games when Sacramento has needed him most and seemingly done so with ease, whether it be from sinking floaters in the key, knocking down step-back-mid-range jumpers, or slicing and dicing his way to the basket during crunch time.
Entering play on February 13th, ‘Swipa’ leads the league in clutch points (148), fourth quarter scoring (5.5 points per game), field goal percentage (59%, min. 40 attempts) while ranking second in total fourth quarter points (389), and second in games with 10+ points in the fourth quarter (19).
Saturday night’s closing effort was some of Fox’s best work, as the All-Star scored 26 of his 36 points during the fourth quarter and overtime periods of a nail-biting 133-128 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Fourth-quarter Fox: Activated pic.twitter.com/PPvc1QRohM
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 12, 2023
Fox scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, outshining Dallas’ new star duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić in order to force overtime. Once play entered OT, Fox buried the opposition by scoring 14 points during the five-minute period, matching the Mavericks’ entire team scoring output in the process.
The fourth quarter has been Fox’s time to shine this season. When you look at the names alongside Fox on the NBA’s fourth quarter leaderboards, it makes sense why the former fifth-overall pick has finally gotten the All-Star attention that he deserves:
NBA Leaders – Games with 10+ Points in the 4th Quarter
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – 22
- De’Aaron Fox – 19
- Jayson Tatum – 19
- Kyrie Irving – 18
- DeMar DeRozan – 17
- LeBron James – 16
NBA Leaders – 4th Quarter Scoring
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – 396
- De’Aaron Fox – 389
- Kyrie Irving – 386
- LeBron James – 379
- DeMar DeRozan – 355
- Jayson Tatum – 340
The names alongside Fox aren’t all just multi-time All-Stars, but they are also players that have been previously or are currently in the running for the Most Valuable Player award.
And to think that just a week ago, there was a possibility that Fox wouldn’t be on this year’s All-Star team. Tsk, tsk, tsk, NBA coaches that voted for the reserves.
‘Clutch’ has been the best way to describe Fox’s play this season, but the guard says he tries to not force the late-game execution. Thanks to a supportive coaching staff and supporting cast, Fox’s green light in the fourth quarter has translated to several wins for Sacramento.
“I think I’m still learning, picking spots,” Fox said following Saturday’s closing effort against Dallas. “But like I said before, the coaching staff, everybody in this locker room, has confidence in me to go out there and make plays, especially late down the stretch. When your teammates and coaching staff have that kind of confidence in you, you just go out and the game comes naturally.
“I don’t want to just say a cliché like it’s a mentality or anything like that, but when the fourth quarter gets going, [I] get going. That’s pretty much what it is.”
Fox has been picking his spots wisely this season, with an emphasis on the mid-range floater–especially in late-game situations. Coming into this season, Fox had never shot above 46 percent from three-to-ten feet away from the basket.
In 2022-23, Fox is shooting a career-high 134-of-230 (58%) from three-to-ten feet while also having converted 117 of his 149 (78%) attempts at the rim this season. Once Fox gets in the paint, the probability of him scoring skyrockets–especially in the fourth quarter.
De'Aaron is a problem 💨 pic.twitter.com/LoepQMmBoE
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 12, 2023
When looking back at some legendary Kings closers like Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Bobby Jackson, it seems like you can envision multiple times that each of those players came through in the clutch during their respective careers in the purple and black.
Fox, who is only 25 and has four more seasons on his contract, has already passed all of those players on Sacramento’s all-time fourth quarter scoring list.
The speedy guard already is closing in on DeMarcus Cousins’ franchise-leading spot in total fourth quarter points (2,195) and has a solid chance of securing the number-one position sometime during the 2023-24 season:
(Stathead)
Not only is Cousins’ fourth quarter points mark in jeopardy, but Fox is now just one game short of the former center’s 61-game record of games with 10+ points in the fourth quarter.
Fox, who has scored 10+ points in the fourth quarter 19 times this season, has done so 60 times during his Kings career.
With Fox closing games at a Mariano Rivera-esque pace, the Kings are in a great position to enter the final stretch of the season in possession of a player that can give opposing teams fits during crunch time.
Sacramento has strong shooters on its roster like Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, and Harrison Barnes, with big man Domantas Sabonis cleaning up around the glass. If opposing defenses begin to double Fox or try to seal him off from the paint, the Kings have options.
While the Kings have three-point threats circling the perimeter and an All-Star big in the paint, Fox won’t shy away from taking shots late in the game unless defenses adjust–which is something that the guard highlighted following Sacramento’s recent win over the Mavs.
“If teams want to allow me to just go down and it’s myself and their big one-on-one, I think my team will take that 10 out of 10 times,” Fox told Deuce Mason and Morgan Ragan on the NBC Sports California telecast after his massive closing effort against Dallas.
“I just keep trying to get downhill, and until they help, I’m going to keep shooting the ball, and that’s what [my teammates] are telling me to do.”
Thank you for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Twitter and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Frankie Cartoscelli is the Kings’ beat reporter for SactownSports.com. Follow Frankie on Twitter.
