The Sacramento Kings have not been in the playoffs for 16 years. The players know it. The coaches know it. And the fans know it.

And guard De’Aaron Fox believes personal success is breaking that streak and bringing the team back to the postseason.

Fox joined NBA Today on ESPN Friday before their matchup with the Lakers where he spoke with Matt Barnes and Chiney Ogwumike about that playoff drought, recent games, and where the increased defensive presence comes from.

“We have an entirely different team and an entirely new coaching staff and you don’t want that burden to be on everybody,” Fox said when host Malika Andrews asked about the playoffs. “Obviously I’ve been here going on six years, so I continue to feel it, but a lot of these guys haven’t been through this. Mike [Brown] just came off a championship, so he doesn’t feel the 16-year no-playoff burden. So just going into this with an entirely different feeling, an entirely new set of players and a lot of confidence.”

Kendrick Perkins later asked Fox what steps he’s taken to become a better leader and defender. Fox credited new coach Mike Brown for helping him improve his defense and being more vocal.

“I can have almost a picture-perfect defensive possession and then he will call a timeout and be like ‘you could have done this, you could have done this better’,” De’Aaron Fox said. “It’s little things like that that continue to make me a better player and a better defender.”

Barnes followed Fox’s thoughts by saying he and guard Davion Mitchell are the toughest defensive backcourt in the NBA when Fox is “on” defensively.

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