Mike Brown Calls Out Kings Star To ‘Step Up’

The Sacramento Kings finally ended their playoff drought a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to build from that.

Adding DeMar DeRozan to the mix hasn’t been very helpful.

There were always legitimate doubts about the team’s spacing with another non-shooter on the court, and while the Kings are still taking a lot of threes, they’re not making as many.

That’s why coach Mike Brown believes it’s time for De’Aaron Fox to lead by example.

Talking to the media, the coach urged his point guard to step up, stating that he’s on the verge of becoming a superstar and, as such, he’ll be tasked with taking the team to a whole new level (via Sean Cunningham):

“Fox has to step up. He’s a great player, on the verge of being a superstar…you have a lot of responsibility if you’re that guy, and he’s that guy. And he can’t be a part of not being locked in and he da** sure can’t be a part of letting it go if we’re not (locked in) as a team,” he said.

Mike Brown's challenge to De'Aaron Fox when getting his Kings to embrace the details & lock in:

"Fox has to step up. He's a great player, on the verge of being a superstar…you have a lot of responsibility if you're that guy, and he's that guy. And he can't be a part of not… pic.twitter.com/YU9891LSit

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 18, 2024

Of course, that makes sense, as the team will only go as far as their best players can take them.

Nevertheless, Fox has been in the league for eight years now, so if he hasn’t become a superstar by now, it is unlikely.

He’s still been pretty good, though, averaging 26.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers per game on 48% shooting.

However, his 32% shooting from three-point range has been an issue.

Fox has always been a great player in the clutch, and the team wouldn’t be better without him; that goes without saying.

Still, some players just aren’t meant to be superstars or clear-cut go-to guys, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’ll be interesting to see how he responds to this challenge, especially with the team barely hanging around .500.