SACRAMENTO – Even though he was facing four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and shot-blocker extraordinaire Rudy Gobert, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox had a simple mission Friday – get to the rack as much as possible.
And that’s exactly what Fox did against the Minnesota Timberwolves on his way to breaking a franchise single-game scoring record that had stood for more than 60 years.
Fox poured in a career-high 60 points and nearly rallied Sacramento to a win in the Kings’ first NBA Cup game of the 2024-25 NBA season before they fell short in overtime, 130-126.
DE’AARON GOES FOR A FRANCHISE-RECORD 60 POINTS 👏
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 16, 2024
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Long after the game ended, Golden 1 Center still was buzzing about Fox’s outstanding and brilliant performance.
“Just making a point of emphasis on keep touching the paint. Just continuing trying to touch the paint,” Fox said while explaining his mindset. “If [Gobert’s] not stepping or if I can get to my floater, you shoot it. If he does step up we get dump-offs or if they start to help I kick it out. I don’t know how many times I touched the paint tonight, but it was for sure a lot.”
Despite the looming presence of the 7-foot-1-inch Gobert, Fox repeatedly attacked the rim and drove deep into the key to score. He did attempt 10 3-pointers and made six, two shy of his personal best – but did his most damage when driving down the lane.
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“When he wants to get to his spot, whether that’s to the rim or right inside the paint, there’s nobody that can stop him,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “He’s that good. He’s frickin’ the fastest guy in the league. He’s strong, he’s long, he’s athletic. I keep saying this on both ends of the floor, the sky’s the limit for him.”
Fox’s magnificence opened the door for him to be written down in the Kings’ record books permanently.
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The 60 points eclipsed the Kings’ previous franchise scoring record of 59 points, set by Jack Twyman in 1960 when the team played in Cincinnati and was known as the Royals.
The only thing missing that would have made the night complete for Fox was a victory. Still, it’s a night and game that he’ll certainly remember and cherish for years to come.
“I wanted to get the win but at the end of the day that type of performance, that type of accomplishment is nothing to just breathe over and let it go,” Fox said. “It’s definitely cool, but obviously I definitely wanted to get the win.”
It was the type of performance that had the Golden 1 crowd cheering Fox’s every shot, while his teammates took time during the game to appreciate what was going on.
“I think we all knew just to kind of get out of his way,” forward Doug McDermott said. “When a guy’s feeling it like that, you just ask him what he wants, if he wants a high-ball screen or ISO, and just let him go to work. He took over.”
Keegan Murray summed it up as pretty much a typical night for Fox.
“When he’s aggressive all the time he’s extremely tough to stop,” Murray said. “That was just representation of him being aggressive the entire game, and that’s what he’s capable of.”
Fox’s big night also gave him the upper hand on Murray after Murray dropped 47 against the Utah Jazz last season, besting Fox’s then-career high of 44 points.
The two had a friendly exchange about it on Fox’s way to the media room after the game.
“He was like, ‘But we lost.’ I said if you would have shot the ball we would have been fine,” Fox joked. “I definitely let him know. He did it against Utah last year so that doesn’t count.”
A reporter asked Fox if he learned anything about himself from the game.
Without missing a beat, Fox smiled then deadpanned: “I knew I was nice already.”
