Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox is not alone when it comes to his disdain towards the playing conditions inside the NBA Bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida last season. The 6-foot-3 speedster had to relive that whole experience on Thursday when he joined former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on latest serving of All The Smoke podcast.
While Fox was grateful for the NBA’s initiative that allowed the season to push through amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he doesn’t want to have a second run at it (via James Ham of NBC Sports).
“That experience was terrible. I never want to have to do anything like that again.”
Fox had a phenomenal showing while confined inside the NBA Bubble, averaging 26.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in six games played. The Kings, however, failed to secure a playoff spot and had to exit the premises early.
The idea of another NBA Bubble scenario has been floating around as of late considering the rising numbers of COVID-19 infected players. Several games have already been postponed despite the league’s strict health and safety protocols.
But as of the moment, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has shown no indication that they are once again considering holding games inside a restricted space.
De’Aaron Fox, who’s known to be very vocal about things, is still adjusting to the new normal of not having fans inside the arena during their games.
“It’s different man, you’ve got to be able to play. There ain’t no fans, there’s no energy, you’ve got to create your own energy. It’s basically like AAU (when) you used to play in that back gym at 8 o’clock in the morning. You’ve got to come ready to play. No one can help you.”
The Kings point guard, who’s averaging 19.2 points, 3.0 boards, and 5.4 dimes this season, can only hope the NBA can contain the ongoing COVID-19 crisis real soon.
