On Sunday night the San Antonio Spurs completed a massive blockbuster deal to acquire De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. Many reports indicated that the Spurs were Fox’s preferred destination, leading to the trade. Surprisingly, the Spurs were able to complete the trade without giving up any of their main core pieces. NBA analyst Skip Bayless is traditionally very critical in his NBA takes, but could only give praise to the Spurs landing Fox.
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Bayless took to X to share his immediate reaction to the Fox trade. In his barrage of praise for Fox he highlighted the first moment he realized that the 6-foot-3 guard was special. Fox made a name for himself during Ketucky’s Sweet 16 matchup against Lonzo Ball and UCLA in 2017. Bayless brought this performance up as a testament to the type of player Fox is. He said,
“That night in 2017, Sweet 16 game at Memphis. Do you remember this? Kentucky, UCLA, and Kentucky won 86-75. De’Aaron Fox cooked poor Lonzo Ball that night. Cooked him for 39 points.”
It's "put up or shut up" time for Wemby pic.twitter.com/Cuv0GdNjnk
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 3, 2025
The former Undisputed host became well-educated about Fox’s play following his outstanding performance against Ball. The UCLA star was the most-coveted guard in the 2017 NBA Draft class, but Fox’s performance single-handily propelled him up the rankings.
In his eight seasons with the Kings, Fox has only made one All-Star team. However, Bayless believes his numbers will translate to success alongside Victor Wembanyama.
Neither Fox nor Wemby has played with someone as talented as each other. They will certainly take time to adjust to their play styles, but their strengths on the court complement each other extremely well. Fox is arguably the fastest player in the NBA.
His ability to turn the corner in the pick-and-roll will leave defenders clueless on whether to commit to help defense or stick to Wemby on the roll. San Antonio’s offense’s versatility will increase drastically causing them to be a matchup nightmare.
Although the Spurs franchise star is only in his second season, Bayless believes the clock is now ticking. San Antonio has surrounded him with great talent and now he has to prove himself more than ever.
Pressure is building for Victor Wembanyama
Don’t get it twisted, this trade for Fox isn’t to win a championship immediately. Fox is still only 27 years old, while Wemby is 21. The two stars will have plenty of time to assert their dominance over the league. However, Wemby has received all the tools to be able to complete at the highest level he has desired.
In this midst of the Defensive Player of the Year discourse, Wemby made it clear where his priority lies. “I really don’t care about individual accolades,” Wembanyama said. “The best reward is to win.”
Victor Wembanyama was asked about Anthony Davis complaining about a narrative for Wemby to win DPOY
Wemby: "I really don't care about individual accolades. So it's not something I've been worrying about.… the best reward is to win." pic.twitter.com/oJZOTzxw82
— Law Murray 🔄 (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 30, 2025
Bayless is a firm believer that the honeymoon period of Wemby’s career is over. Winning is more imperative than ever before and it needs to start now. The Spurs currently hold a 21-25 record, which slots them at 12th in the West.
They are two games behind the Kings for the 10th and final Play-In spot, which is certainly obtainable now with the addition of De’Aaron Fox.
