De’Aaron Fox Cleared to Return From Knee Injury

The Sacramento Kings have dodged a bullet this week. Point Guard De’Aaron Fox has been cleared to play Saturday against the Orlando Magic after suffering a knee injury this week.

Fox suffered the injury during Wednesday’s win at Charlotte. He attempted to draw a charge on Hornets’ center Nick Richards in the second quarter when their knees collided. Fox left the game and did not return; he then missed the next game in Miami. An MRI revealed a bone bruise but no structural damage.

According to a league source, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox (knee) has been cleared to play and will be available for today’s game against the Orlando Magic.

— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) November 5, 2022

Kings’ beat writer Jason Alexander reported that Fox was a full participant in practice on Friday. He started the day listed as questionable for Saturday’s game.

Before the injury, Fox has started putting together an All-Star-caliber season. He is averaging 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in six games. He is doing so on 63.9% true shooting, which would mark a career-high.

Fox had recently come off a streak of four straight 50%+ shooting games. On October 22nd, Fox scored 36 on 65% field goal percentage against the Los Angeles Clippers. He also shot three for five from the three-point line. He followed up with a 26-point, 10 assist effort against the Golden State Warriors, shooting 55% from the field. The last game of the streak came against Memphis, where he had 27 points on nearly 58% shooting.

The 2-5 Kings face the 2-7 Magic at 5 p.m. It is unclear if head coach Mike Brown will have Fox on a minutes restriction. But the Kings appears to be getting their leader back in De’Aaron Fox.