Kings' Mike Brown Has Brutally Honest Message for De'Aaron Fox

The Sacramento Kings are sitting two games under .500 after hitting a rough patch at the beginning of the 2024 NBA season. Despite carrying a losing record, the Kings have plenty of time to right their wrongs and get their act together before crunch time.

Sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference, Kings head coach Mike Brown challenged starting point guard De'Aaron Fox to "step up" for the rest of the season.

(Per Sean Cunningham | KTXL): "Fox has to step up," said Brown. "He's a great player, on the verge of being a superstar. There are those guys and there are the superstars that win at a high level... you have a lot of responsibility if you're that guy, and he's that guy. And he can't be a part of not being locked in and he damn sure can't be a part of letting it go if we're not (locked in) as a team."

Mike Brown's challenge to De'Aaron Fox when getting his Kings to embrace the details & lock in:

"Fox has to step up. He's a great player, on the verge of being a superstar...you have a lot of responsibility if you're that guy, and he's that guy. And he can't be a part of not… pic.twitter.com/YU9891LSit
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 18, 2024

Fox has averaged 26.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals through 28 games this season. Sacramento's star guard has stuck with the team for eight years now but did not sign a contract extension in the offseason.

As part of his explanation of why he didn't sign an extension, Fox said he wants to win. "I want to make sure that we’re in a position to win in the future," said Fox (per The Draymond Green Show). "That’s what I want to do. I would love to be here and retire here. … But at the end of the day, I want to win.”

“I would love to be here and retire here. … But at the end of the day, I want to win.”

De’Aaron Fox explains passing on his extension to @money23green and @barondavis on tomorrow’s @draymondshow https://t.co/fdDqQrLek4 pic.twitter.com/1LAfrPiUnf
— The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) December 17, 2024

Winning hasn't come easy in Sactown, but there's no reason that can't change. The Kings have the star power from Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan. Cleaning up mistakes and leading the team after tough losses is part of why Brown is challenging Fox.

Fox scored a game-high 26 points in Thursday's crushing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, a game that felt like a must-win scenario. Fox and the Kings will get another crack at the LA squad on Saturday. Brown's challenge for Fox came before Thursday's loss to the Lakers, but his point certainly still stands.

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