De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2017 NBA draft. Fox had a breakout season in 2023, earning his first All-Star selection, an All-NBA Team nod, and was named NBA Clutch Player of the Year while leading the Kings to their first postseason berth since 2006. He also led the league in steals in 2024. Traded to the Spurs at the 2025 trade deadline, Fox earned his second All-Star selection in 2026 and reached the NBA Finals with the team later that season.
Fox attended Cypress Lakes High School in Cypress, Texas. As a junior, he averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. During the summer, Fox played for Houston Hoops in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Circuit (EYBL) where he earned EYBL first-team honors. On November 29, Fox scored 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 68–53 victory over MacArthur. On December 28, Fox put up 31 points and 6 assists in a 91–81 victory against Jay M. Robinson High School. As a senior, Fox averaged 32.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. In January 2016, Fox was named a McDonald's All-American and played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game on March 30. In April, Fox played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic, leading the East team to a 131–117 win while earning Co-MVP honors alongside Kentucky teammate Malik Monk. Fox then competed at the Nike Hoop Summit Games. He made the 2015–16 USA Men's Basketball Men's Junior Team in September 2015. He was also invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp. Throughout his high school career, Fox led Cypress Lakes to three state playoff appearances including a regional final appearance his senior year, and twice scored 50 points in a single game.
During his high school years in the Houston area, Fox also played on the AAU circuit with Houston Hoops ; he was teammates with future NBA players including Justin Jackson, Justise Winslow and Kelly Oubre Jr.. Fox and Jackson, who grew up in the same region, developed a close relationship through years of youth and AAU basketball before later following different collegiate paths.
In the class of 2016, Fox was the nation's second-best point guard behind Lonzo Ball. He was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked the consensus No. 6 overall recruit by the three main recruiting services: Rivals, ESPN, and 247Sports.
He committed to Kentucky over Kansas, Louisville, Arizona, and LSU on November 12, 2015, live on ESPNU. With his reason to choose UK he stated "It felt like a family (at UK)".
On November 13, 2016, Fox recorded 21 points and 3 assists during a 93–69 victory over Canisius College at the Bluegrass Showcase. Six days later, he posted 16 points and 6 assists to defeat Duquesne University, 93–69. In a game against Arizona State on November 28, he recorded a triple double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists; this made Fox only the second Wildcat in the history of Kentucky basketball to record one after Chris Mill in 1988. On January 7, 2017, Fox scored 27 points to go along with 6 assists in a 97–71 victory over Arkansas. He tallied 21 points and 5 assists to defeat Mississippi State, 88–81, on January 17. On February 18 that year, Fox scored 16 points and dished out 5 assists to help the Wildcats defeat the Georgia Bulldogs. On March 4, Fox scored 19 points in a 71–63 win over Texas A&M. Kentucky would go on to defeat Georgia in the quarterfinals and Alabama in the semi-finals. On March 12, Fox scored 18 points in an 82–65 win over Arkansas in the SEC tournament in addition earning SEC Tournament MVP honors. On March 17, Fox scored 19 points and 3 assists to defeat Northern Kentucky University in the first round of the NCAA tournament. On March 19, Fox scored 14 points to defeat Wichita State 65–62 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On March 24, In a Sweet 16 matchup against the UCLA Bruins, Fox scored 39 points to advance the Kentucky Wildcats to the Elite Eight game. In the Elite Eight, Fox only scored 13 points in the regional final,, while North Carolina forward Justin Jackson led the Tar Heels in scoring with 19 points. North Carolina secured a 75–73 victory on a last-second jumper by Luke Maye.
At the conclusion of his freshman season, Fox announced that he would forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft. As he stated in his announcement, "I think I’ve had a pretty good freshman season through the guidance of our coaching staff and I think it’s time for me to live out my dream."
On June 22, 2017, Fox was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. The team also selected former teammate Justin Jackson in the same round.
On July 8, 2017, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings. During four games of the 2017 NBA Summer League, Fox averaged 11.8 points, 3 assists and 2.3 steals while playing 21.3 minutes per game. Fox made his NBA debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 18, 2017, against the Houston Rockets, where he scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assist in 24-plus minutes in a 105–100 loss. On October 23, 2017, Fox recorded a career-high 19 points, 4 assist, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in a 117–115 loss against the Phoenix Suns. On December 8, 2017, he scored 14 points, 4 assist and 2 steals in a 116–109 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. On January 6, 2018, Fox recorded 18 points and 7 assist in a 106–98 victory over the Denver Nuggets. On January 25, 2018, Fox scored 14 points, 4 assist and a putback slam dunk with 3.3 seconds left giving the Sacramento Kings the lead in an 89–88 win over the Miami Heat. On January 28, 2018, Fox scored a season-high 26 points, going 6–6 from three-point range in a 15-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On February 14, Fox was named Lonzo Ball's replacement for the Rising Stars Challenge.
On November 1, 2018, during a 146–115 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Fox notched his first career triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists to bring the Kings to a 6–3 record, becoming the only player after LeBron James in 2005 to score a 30-point triple double before the age of 21. Fox drastically improved during the 2018–2019 season. Not only did he improve in every major statistical category (Including his points per game from 11.6 to 17.3 and assists per game from 4.4 to 7.3), He also finished top 3 and was nominated for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, finishing second to Pascal Siakam.
On July 31, 2020, Fox scored a then career-high 39 points in a 129–120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. This was the Kings’ first game in the Orlando bubble, returning from a 4-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On November 25, 2020, Fox signed a five-year, $163 million contract extension with the Kings. On February 8, 2021, Fox was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career averaging 31 points & nearly 9 assists while winning all 4 games on the first week of February. On March 26, 2021, Fox scored a then career-high 44 points on 16-of-22 from the field in a 141–119 victory over the Golden State Warriors. On March 29, 2021, Fox was once again named Player of the Week for the second time during Week 14. Fox averaged nearly 37 points & 5 assists per game while shooting 64% from the field over the 4 games, all ending in victories for the Kings.
On March 5, 2022, Fox tied his then career-high with 44 points on 18-for-31 shooting in a 114–113 loss against the Dallas Mavericks. On March 12, Fox had 41 points and a season-high 11 assists in a 134–125 loss against the Utah Jazz.
First All-Star and playoff appearance (2022–2023)
On November 5, 2022, Fox put up 37 points, alongside a buzzer-beating, game-winning three, in a 126–123 overtime win over the Orlando Magic. He was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for November 14–20 after leading Sacramento to a 3–0 record, where he averaged 25 points, 3.7 rebounds and 8 assists per game. On December 28, Fox recorded 31 points and a season-high 13 assists in a 127–126 win over the Denver Nuggets. On February 10, 2023, he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career as a reserve. Fox and Anthony Edwards were announced as injury replacements for injured stars Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson. On February 24, Fox recorded a season-high 42 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and five steals in a 176–175 double overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers. It was the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. On March 15, Fox put up a game-winning three-pointer in a 117–114 win over the Chicago Bulls.