"It’s Steph & Dame": De’Aaron Fox guns for Steph Curry & Damian Lillard atop NBA's point guard throne
Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox has established himself as one of the NBA’s top point guards this season. However, according to the 26-year-old, he still looks forward to proving himself against veteran superstar point guards Steph Curry and Damian Lillard.
Per ESPN, Fox ranks third in scoring among point guards at 30.2 points per game, ahead of Curry (27.9 ppg) and Lillard (25.7 ppg). Nonetheless, after growing up watching both players, he still relishes every opportunity he gets to play against them.
“That one for me, now, it’s Steph and Dame,” Fox said during a recent appearance on NBA TV when asked which point guard he most looks forward to matching up against.
“I mean, Steph is 10 years older than me. I think Dame is eight or nine years older than me. So, being able to see those guys play in the league for so long, and then now, going in and matching up with them.”
Fox added that Lillard humbled him during his rookie season, which only adds to his excitement for their matchups:
“And Dame gave me my ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment. So, just being able to match up with those guys is definitely fun for me.”
Outside of his 30.2 ppg, Fox is averaging 4.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.4 3-pointers per game through 23 games. He is doing so while shooting 48.7% and 39.6% from deep. Last season, he made just 1.6 3pg on 32.4% shooting from 3. So, his improvement from long range has been a big factor in his career-best scoring season.
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How has De’Aaron Fox fared against Steph Curry and Damian Lillard throughout his career?
Through his first seven seasons, De’Aaron Fox has faced off against Steph Curry 11 times and Damian Lillard 14 times. The veteran superstars both hold a considerable scoring edge over him in their head-to-head matchups.
Through 11 games against Curry, Fox is averaging 22.4 ppg compared to Curry’s 33.6 ppg. Additionally, in their seven-game first-round playoff series last season, Curry averaged 33.7 ppg, while Fox averaged 27.4 ppg.
Meanwhile, through 14 contests against Lillard, Fox is averaging 19.2 ppg compared to Lillard’s 29.1 ppg.
It’s unclear if Fox is aware of the two superstars’ sizeable head-to-head scoring advantage. Regardless, as he enters his prime, the Kings star should be able to gain some ground on both players.