Kings’ De’Aaron Fox passes Chris Webber for 7th-most steals in franchise history

During the second quarter of the Sacramento Kings’ 119-117 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, De’Aaron Fox passed Chris Webber for the seventh-most steals in franchise history.

Webber amassed 568 steals in seven seasons spent with Sacramento. Fox now has 570 steals in his seven-year career with the Kings after last night’s defeat. The 6-foot-3 guard has the fifth-most steals in the Sacramento era.

Fox, 26, still trails six other Kings legends — Sam Lacey (950), Doug Christie (717), Mitch Richmond (670), DeMarcus Cousins (661), Scott Wedman (640), and Mike Bibby (584).

Per a few NBA betting sites, Fox holds sixth-shortest odds to win this season’s NBA Clutch Player of the Year. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for Damian Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and other stars.

From Kings:

With his steal at the 38.8 second mark of the second quarter tonight at Phoenix, De’Aaron Fox has now passed Chris Webber (568) for sole possession of the fifth-most steals in the Sacramento era. Fox also now ranks seventh in franchise history in steals.

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) January 17, 2024

Through 34 starts this season, Fox is averaging career highs of 28 points and 35.5 minutes per game, along with 4.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and a career-high-tying 1.6 steals per contest.

The 2023 All-Star guard ranks 14th in the NBA in points (952) this season, seventh in steals (55), 12th in field goals (338), 17th in 3-pointers (111), and seventh in usage percentage (31.9%).

Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox needs 15 steals to pass Mike Bibby for the sixth most in club history

In Sacramento’s road loss to the Suns, Fox recorded 33 points, two rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 37 minutes of action. He finished 12-of-24 (50%) shooting from the floor, 6-of-10 (60%) from 3-point range, and 3-of-5 (60%) at the foul line.

Phoenix outscored the Kings 68-49 in the second half. Kevin Durant’s free throws with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Suns a 117-115 lead, their first since it was 3-2.

Fox tied it with a jumper with 19 seconds remaining. However, he then fouled Durant, who was attempting a 3-pointer. Phoenix went on to secure the win. Sacramento blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead to lose the game.

“Great learning lesson for us all.”

Mike Brown reacts to the Kings’ blowing 22-point fourth-quarter lead to the Suns 🔽 pic.twitter.com/vo0I5H54bo

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 17, 2024

“It’s a tough way to lose. Give them credit,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “We played a good 42 minutes. The last six minutes, we took some tough shots at the rim. We couldn’t score at the rim instead of just continuing to move the ball and move bodies, everything was really stagnant, we turned the ball over.

“We had no pace in the halfcourt, we were holding the ball a lot. [Our team] has to figure it out. Hopefully it’s something we can learn from.”

Domantas Sabonis recorded his 11th triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. It was his 23rd straight game with double figures in two or more statistics.

This game was also Sabonis’ league-high 36th double-double of the season. Keegan Murray scored 18 points and Malik Monk added 13 as well.

Sacramento is currently on a three-game skid.

De’Aaron Fox and the Kings host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.