Source: Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox signing signature shoe deal with major brand

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox took his name and his game to new heights last season while leading Sacramento to its first playoff appearance since 2006.

Now, Fox is on the verge of signing a signature shoe deal with a major brand, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Sacramento Bee. The deal is expected to be announced Thursday.

Following the publication of this story, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Fox is finalizing an endorsement deal with Curry Brand, becoming the first NBA player to sign with Stephen Curry’s signature line at Under Armour.

Fox, 25, led the Kings into their season opener against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. He is emerging as one of the league’s most dynamic players following a 2022-23 season in which he made his first All-Star appearance and earned his first All-NBA selection.

Fox came out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He enters his seventh NBA season with career averages of 20.2 points and 6.2 assists. He is in the third year of a five-year, $163 million contract after signing an extension with the Kings in 2020.

Fox averaged 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals last season. He helped the Kings go 48-34 to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons in Sacramento.

Fox has formed a strong partnership with Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who came to Sacramento in the February 2022 trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to the Indiana Pacers. Fox and Sabonis appeared in the All-Star Game together in Salt Lake City last season and later garnered All-NBA Third Team honors for the first time in their respective careers.

Fox, who has established himself as one of the game’s most lethal fourth-quarter scorers, was also named the winner of the inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award.