De'Aaron Fox manages to get the upper hand on his opponent to score with his left hand near the circle. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander responds on the next possession with a “jumper” at the free throw line. The following ? New response from the Kings leader who manages to sneak towards the circle.
The meeting between the Kings and the Thunder gave rise to a big battle between the two All-Stars, particularly in the fourth quarter during which this exchange of baskets took place. “ It's a cool matchup because these are two of the youngest stars in this league, who are on the rise and should have the responsibility of carrying the torch into the future. », summarizes Mike Brown.
He adds, mischievously: “ It would have been nice to have popcorn and sit in your seat (the journalists). As a coach, you have the opportunity to watch the matches, but you don't have the opportunity to appreciate them like you do and like the fans do all the time. »
Many points in common
The latter were treated to a very good show with, on one side, a De'Aaron Fox with 41 points (14/23 on shots including 5/11 at 3-points) and 7 assists and on the other, a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 43 points (13/27 on shots, 16/18 on shots) and 9 assists. It was their 9th and 11th career game with 40 points or more, respectively. “ They are both very, very explosive, young, talented and fun to watch », Continues the Kings coach.
In addition to earning their first All-Star Game selection together last year, the two men have another thing in common: they both come from Kentucky. De'Aaron Fox studied there for one year, during the 2016-17 season, before being drafted in 2017, in 5th place. His Thunder counterpart followed the same path but a year later, being selected in 2018 in 11th place.
When asked about his relationship with “SGA”De'Aaron Fox assures that he is not “ super close » from his opponent of the evening. “ We talk here and there. » On the other hand, he has very specific memories of the Canadian in the university setting. Having just been drafted, De'Aaron Fox and his former teammates, Bam Adebayo and Malik Monk, returned to their old campus, to meet new members of the Wildcats team.
“The lowest ranked of all”
“ Shai was… He wasn't necessarily a stranger, but I don't think he was at the McDonald's All-American. I think he was the lowest ranked of all the players, he was still in the Top 50 or something like that, but he was the lowest ranked of all of them. We went to play together and I was like, 'Hey, I think he's going to be the best player on the team.' I really believed in it at the time, and then in the middle of the season, he ended up becoming a starter “, reports De'Aaron Fox.
Aged 19 at the time, the Toronto native, who played with Kevin Knox and PJ Washington, ended his year averaging 14 points with nearly 34 minutes. Picked up by the Clippers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander then exploded in OKC after being involved in the trade for Paul George. “ And now he's a candidate for MVP », Summarizes De'Aaron Fox, whose name is also starting to circulate in this race.
The left-hander finishes: “ He's clearly a lot tougher than he was back then. He continues to develop, we try to take the ball out of his hands. But being so long, so crafty, so strong, he's difficult for any team to cover. »
