Sacramento Kings speedy point guard De'Aaron Fox does not take calling other basketball players “heroes.”
Fox, 22, responded to a story shared by NBC Sports California's Kings coverage reporting the former Kentucky guard and rising NBA star idolized current Houston Rockets superstar guard Russell Westbrook.
Fox, however, did call Westbrook, the former NBA MVP with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his favorite player—just not hero.
Hero??? No 😂😂😂 favorite player? Yes https://t.co/2A1JlS36vD
— De'Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) May 15, 2020
Westbrook spent 11 seasons with the Thunder franchise, technically acting as the final top pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA Draft before relocating to OKC, where he helped lead the team into the 2012 Finals along with eight All-Star appearances, two scoring champion honors, and that one-time elusive MVP award in 2016-17. Westbrook had to say goodbye to the Thunder last summer, though, when the rival Rockets traded veteran point guard Chris Paul and draft picks for Westbrook, teaming him up again with former and current backcourt partner James Harden in Houston.
Fox no doubt grew up watching Westbrook ball out for the Thunder, as the Kings guard is often compared to the twitchy Westbrook along with Washington Wizards speedster John Wall. Fox took a major leap in year two with Sacramento during the 2018-19 NBA season, as the former fifth-overall selection by the Kings saw his star grow, then averaging 17.3 points, 7.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in 81 appearances, shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from 3-point range.
This past season hasn't been easy for new head coach Luke Walton and the Kings, but Fox, with or without “hero” Westbrook's poster on his wall, averaged a new career-high 20.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game along with 6.8 assists and 1.4 steals shooting 47.5 percent from the field in 45 contests before the NBA had to go into hiatus mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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