Kings-Thunder Matchup of the Game: De’Aaron Fox vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder will face off with two of the top point guards in the NBA.

Feb 28, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) react to an officials following a play during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings are on a three-game losing streak and at a crossroads early in the season. The Kings have already slid to 12th in the loaded Western Conference, and can’t afford to drop further in the standings.

Things don’t get any easier for them tonight, as they face the 12-4 Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back after a loss to the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night.

Monday night’s matchup of the game is between two of the best guards in the league: De’Aaron Fox vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Season stats:

• De’Aaron Fox: 28.9 PTS, 5.7 AST, 4.9 REB, 1.7 STL, 0.1 BLK, 51.1 FG%, 35.6 3P%
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 28.7 PTS, 6.3 AST, 5.1 REB, 1.8 STL, 1.1 BLK, 50.0 FG%, 33.7 3P%

The two guards have extremely similar games, as both thrive driving and cutting to the hoop. SGA tends to get all the way to the rim a little more than Fox, as De’Aaron utilizes the floater area more than his Thunder counterpart.

Both can stop and hit the mid-range jumper as well, forcing defenders to make the impossible decision of how to guard the shifty attackers.

Fox has been on an absolute tear over the last five games, averaging 39.4 points and 7.0 assists on 55.6 percent from the field and 51.6 percent from three. He may need another big game against one of the best two-way guards in SGA tonight to put the Kings back in the win column.

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