Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox has been announced as the inaugural winner of the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award.
The 25-year-old beat competition from league veterans Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat) and Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan to win the Jerry West trophy, as selected by a panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league, and become the first Kings’ player to win an individual NBA award since Tyreke Evans, who won the Rookie of the Year award in 2010.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox is the recipient of the Jerry West Trophy as the 2022-23 Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year.
Full voting results and award history:https://t.co/48al01PN3n pic.twitter.com/blRRodHL9w
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 18, 2023
Fox, who led the league in clutch points with 194 in 39 games, won the award with a landslide, getting 91 of the possible 100 first-place votes and 460 of a possible 500 points.
Butler, who had 151 clutch points, got one first-place vote and 104 points, while DeRozan, whose 159 clutch points were second in the NBA, finished with 80 points, just three ahead of fourth-placed Jalen Brunson of New York Knicks.
Clutch time is defined as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points, and Fox actually shot better from the field in those moments (53%) than he did at all other times (51%).
Sacramento Kings currently lead defending champion Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the ongoing playoffs and they will head to the Chase Center for Game 3 on Thursday night, with Fox looking to lead his team to the Western Conference semifinals, having averaged a team-best 31 points in the last two playoff games.
