NEWSLETTER
The Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox has been named the 2022-23 Clutch Player of the Year. Fox is now the first player in NBA history to take home the award and brand new Jerry West Trophy.
Fox beat out the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler and Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan and the for the honor, respectively. Each player finished in the top-3 for total clutch points scored this season. Fox sat comfortably in the lead with 194 points, while DeRozan sat second (159) and Butler third (151). Fox also shot 52.9 percent in clutch situations, leading the Kings to the 4th-best clutch net rating in the NBA.
Here are the top-5 vote-getters for the award:
– De’Aaron Fox
– Jimmy Butler
– DeMar DeRozan
– Jalen Brunson
– Joel Embiid
You can check out the complete list of results here.
As much as I would’ve liked to see DeRozan take home the first-ever Clutch Player of the Year award, even I can’t disagree that Fox is a worthy winner. He’s been pivotal in securing the Kings the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and carrying the franchise back to the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. He’s also already flashed his crunch-time scoring skills in the postseason, scoring a combined 26 points in the 4th quarter of the first two games. Sacramento leads the series 2-0 over Golden State.
Congrats to Fox. Maybe next year, DeMar.
