The 2017 NBA Draft is point guard heavy, with three of the projected top five picks (and four of the top 10) being point men. Markelle Fultz from Washington and Lonzo Ball from UCLA are the near consensus choices to go to the Celtics and Lakers respectively with the first two picks in the draft.
After those two, the draft gets a bit murkier, but point guard De’Aaron Fox from Kentucky shouldn’t get past Sacramento at No. 5 overall – the latest reports are that the Kings could potentially trade up to No. 3 with the Sixers in order to guarantee they land Fox to keep the Suns from getting him. Fox’s shooting is what most see as holding him back from being in the competition for one of those top two picks, but Fox thinks his two-way play makes him the best point guard in this draft.
In a recent appearance on The Sidelines podcast with Evan Daniels, Fox gave his pitch for why he should be taken ahead of Ball and Fultz.
“I just feel like as a competitor I always step my game up in the big games,” Fox said. “They all do stuff that’s special. I just feel like, especially as a two-way player, that I’m the best and I want to be able to lock up a player, while also scoring and just doing everything for my team.”
The best example of Fox’s competitive nature and two-way play in a big game is from Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament meeting with Lonzo Ball and UCLA. In that game, Fox exploded for 39 points on 13-for-20 shooting, along with four assists, three rebounds, and two steals, while locking up on Ball, keeping the highly touted UCLA point guard from getting going with just 10 points and eight assists on 4-for-10 shooting (1-for-6 from three-point range).
One game certainly isn’t the end all, be all of draft comparisons, but that head-to-head matchup certainly turned some heads. Daniels asked Fox if he felt that game boosted his draft stock, and Fox agreed it had, not because of the 1-on-1 game with he and Ball but for what it showed he could do when the stage was brightest.
“It was pretty personal for me [playing Ball and UCLA], just cause a lot of people were at the game, watching the game on TV,” Fox said. “Probably one of the most watched games on TV this year, and when the lights went big, my whole life I’ve been able to perform. I wasn’t going in with nerves or anything, just going in excited to play in a big game like that.
“Definitely has [boosted my draft stock]. Every game in the NBA is basically big, so showing that you can perform under pressure, I feel like it’s really helped my draft stock.”
Fox’s pitch probably won’t end up leading him to the Celtics or Lakers, but he still figures to hear his name go early in the draft and will look to make a statement for his new team.
