"He’s a gamer”- Steve Kerr applauds De’Aaron Fox as Kings star in lineup despite injury

Sacramento Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox suffered a fractured left index finger during the fourth quarter of the Kings’ Game 4 loss (126-125) to Golden State on Sunday, April 23. This left his availability for Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 in doubt.

However, Fox has decided to try and play through the injury. During his pregame press conference on Wednesday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked whether Fox’s availability changes the Warriors’ game plan. Kerr said that it does not because Golden State fully expected Fox to play through the injury:

“We fully expected him to play, so our preparation has been the same,” Kerr said.

“I’m not surprised he’s playing, he’s a gamer. It’s tough to keep these guys out of a playoff game. This is what they’ve trained for and dreamt of, and our players would’ve been the same way. As long as one of our guys is cleared, I know they’re always going to play.”

De’Aaron Fox is averaging 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 3.3 3-pointers per game on 44.7% shooting through four playoff games.

The Kings and Warriors’ first-round series is tied at 2-2 entering Wednesday night’s Game 5.

De’Aaron Fox on playing through left finger injury

Sacramento Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox

During the Sacramento Kings’ practice on Tuesday, De’Aaron Fox spoke about playing with his fractured left index finger. This comes as Fox is wearing a brace on the injured finger. The star point guard said that, as of now, it’s not affecting him too much:

"I don't think it's a big deal," Fox said.

However, Fox added that this could change depending on how much his finger gets hit throughout Game 5:

“But obviously depending on how much it gets hit ... the pain will increase. But if it was to stay the exact same way it is now, I'd be fine,” Fox said.

Kings coach Mike Brown added that Fox’s willingness to play through injury sends a strong message to his teammates:

"It sends a big message," Brown said.

"You want your guys to not just have physical toughness, but mental toughness. It's great if it starts from your leadership and then trickles down."