De’Aaron Fox gives the Kings the point guard of the future they desperately needed

The Sacramento Kings selected De’Aaron Fox with the No. 5 in the 2017 NBA draft. Fox is one of a number of highly coveted freshmen Kentucky Wildcats in this draft, including Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo. Fox, though, beat them both off the draft board.

Fox served as Kentucky’s primary ball handler last season, guiding the team to the Elite Eight. Always regarded as a lottery prospect, Fox’s name took a leap in the Sweet 16 where he outplayed another point guard prospect, Lonzo Ball, to beat UCLA. Fox tallied 39 points on 13-of-20 shooting, and helped hold Ball to just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting with four turnovers.

In 36 games, Fox averaged 17 points on 48 percent shooting, five assists, and four rebounds.

Fox is lightning quick and taller than most at his position at 6’4. His handles are tight, he’s one of, if not the best prospect at finding his way into the paint, and he’s a good finisher. He connected on 64 percent of his shots at the rim, which is where 48 percent of his shots came from.

His skill set has been compared to John Wall’s, and though it’s always wise to be weary of NBA comps, the frame of his body of work feels similar to his Wildcat predecessor’s.

With his ability to speed past the first line of defense into the paint, Fox should become a quality drive-and-kick point guard right away. He averaged five assists last season.

Fox’s long wingspan should also give hope to his potential as a defender, though his hands were already active last season. His arms stretch 6’6.5 wide, and he snatched two steals per 40 minutes in school.

While there’s plenty to like about Fox, he has some notable disadvantages he’ll need to fix right away. It’s no secret that Fox is a poor jump shooter, and that only gets worse from behind the arc. He shot 25 percent from distance, and will need to find some sort of consistency at the professional level to keep the defenses honest.

There’s the question of his slim frame. He weighs just 171 pounds, and his legs are noticeably skinny. All college athletes have this problem heading into the pros, but for Fox it could be especially crushing for his early development. His speed will be matched in the NBA.

Fox’s nickname is Swipa (get it like Swiper the fox from Dora.) Also, according to his Kentucky page, he chose the No. 0 because he feels like you should fear no one.

Also, his motivation for outplaying Lonzo Ball in the Sweet 16 is relatable.