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It's Nov. 1 and the Sacramento Kings have six wins. You would have been forgiven for expecting the Kings
Expected to again occupy the bottom of the Western Conference before the season, the Kings are now 6-3 after a high-flying 146-115 win over the Hawks Atlanta on Thursday, and they '. Buddy Hield is leading the team with 19.8 points per game. 48.9 percent from 3-point range. Second overall pick Marvin Bagley is playing as well as promised. Willie Cauley-Stein has become a two-way force in the paint.
And at the center of it all, De'Aaron Fox is looking for a budding star, and the Hawks for a 31-point triple-double.
What De'Aaron Fox is doing for the Kings
In total, Fox posted 31 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, with all three totals for career-highs for sophomore. He just posted all of those points on just 13 shots.
The NBA draft, Fox showed some flashes of a rookie year with 11.6 points and 4.4 assists per game. However, that was largely overshadowed by the prevailing narrative of the hapless Kings, who finished the season 27-55 for the franchise's worst record since 2012.
That's not happening so much this year. Fox is now averaging 19 points, 7.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game and has been pushed to the heart of the team's talent. After ranking last in the season of 2017-18 season, the Kings currently rank second this season. It's pretty easy to draw a line between that jump and Fox's elite speed on the floor.
Part of the reason why the Kings somewhat curiously passed on the top of the list. Right now, it's hard to blame them for putting on their chips on Fox.
De'Aaron Fox enters elite company with triple-double
Suffice to say, triple-doubles from 20-year-olds are rare. How rare? Fox's one on Thursday was just the third in NBA history, following two of a young LeBron James.
De'Aaron Fox (31 PTS, 10 REB, 15 AST) is the second player in NBA History to record a 30-point triple-double before his 21st birthday. LeBron James did so twice at age 20: 40-10-10 on April 9, 2005 and 36-11-10 on Nov. 19, 2005. @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/lTsfuCFdw7
– NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) November 2, 2018
Fox's performance on Thursday becomes more important when you consider just how many points and assists he racked up. In fact, no player Fox has got 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
A couple of guys did it when they were 21. You could have heard of them.
At age 20, De'Aaron Fox (31 PTS, 10 REB, 15AST) is the youngest player in @NBAHistory with 30 + PTS, 10 + BRA, 15 + AST in a game.
Two players did so at age 21: Magic Johnson (33 PTS, 15 REB, 17 AST) on March 29, 1981 and Michael Jordan (35 PTS, 14 REB, 15 AST) on Jan. 14, 1985. pic.twitter.com/qMyvexAmtd
– NBA (@NBA) November 2, 2018
Now, De'Aaron Fox is almost certainly not going to be LeBron James, Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson. Those are just fun stats. But the 20-year-old is going to be happier than ever before.
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