Fox returns to Sacramento Friday night, but some Kings fans may not give him a warm welcome back.
SAN ANTONIO — Before the San Antonio Spurs land in Sacramento for this Friday’s matchup against the Kings, De’Aaron Fox may not get a completely warm welcome.
Following a mid-season deal that sent the former Kings to the Spurs, Sacramento fans voiced their displeasure with Fox, believing he wedged himself out of the team that drafted him.
Before the Kings hit the road, Sacramento announced their next home game at the Golden 1 Center will be versus the Spurs, including a photo of the former Kings player.
It was met with boos from the Kings faithful as it will mark Fox’s first return since the deal.
The Kings will likely give him a tribute video pregame, but some fans may be hissing and jeering.
Some feel he betrayed the organization and forced himself out. At the same time, other Sacramento fans do not blame Fox for allegedly seeking a trade and point their finger at Sacramento management for firing coach Mike Brown, whom they consider the trigger that pushed Fox out of the team.
Overall, their former franchise player led the Kings to the postseason and brought joy to the court for years.
Fox was Sacramento’s centerpiece, and to see him exit was a shock to the system.
As for the Spurs guard’s return, he knows what will await him in Sacramento but remains calm and complementary of his time as a King.
“For the people who still love me, obviously, I really appreciate that,” he said. “Obviously, I was there for so long, but for the people who don’t, we’re never worried about bitter people.”
Said Fox: “Everybody there was extremely kind and extremely grateful. And then when we started winning, then it was ‘light the beam’ everywhere. You really felt it around the city. So it was definitely a great place for me to be for as long as I was there, and I really appreciate my time.”
His new teammate, Chris Paul, will be there for him and seek a win for the former Kings guard.
“It’s gonna be interesting to sort of take it all, watch it all take place,” he said. “When I was in those situations, all I wanted was my teammates to support me. I think that’s what we’ll all do, and try to go out there and make sure we get the win.”