SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Kings are the surprise team of the early NBA season and point guard De'Aaron Fox is a big reason for the quick start.
The sophomore playmaker looks like a different player on the court and he continues to improve almost every time he steps on the court.
Fox is known for his incredible speed and quickness, but he's added a new element to his game this year that is opening up the spacing on the floor and allowing him even more room to operate.
After shooting 30.7 percent from behind the arc in his rookie campaign, Fox has come out hot early, knocking down 19-of-43 from 3-point range for a blistering 44.2 percent.
"It's just confidence," Fox said following practice on Tuesday. "Shooting the ball with confidence every time. Shooting the ball like every shot is going to go in."
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Fox started the season slow from long range, shooting just 4-of-19 in eight games in October. In six games in the month of November, the 20-year-old has hit 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from deep as he's become more comfortable on the floor.
The former Kentucky star added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and he spent plenty of time hoisting up shots, but he hasn't really made many adjustments in his stroke.
"I didn't really change any mechanics," Fox said. "Looking at college I kind of saw that I brought the ball back too far, but other than that, it wasn't anything major."
The increase in range has helped his overall field goal percentage as well. Fox shot just 41.2 percent from the field last season, compared to the 50.8 percent he's posted through 14 games.
He is running to the rack in transition and when teams give him space, he's pulling up for open threes. There is no hesitation in his game, which is a major sign of growth.
"I think it's extremely different," Fox said of his play this season versus last year. "I think with shooting the ball better comes a lot more things."
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It's early, but Fox is averaging 18.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 32.7 minutes per game. He's garnering attention around the league for his strong start and he is a big piece to the Kings' early success.
If there is one knock on Fox so far, he's struggled at the line, which he is the first to point out.
"I've been pretty efficient, right now I just need to make free throws," Fox said. "I feel like every other aspect of my game is going pretty well, but I got to get the easy ones."
Fox is using his new found confidence to attack the rim more frequently this season. As a rookie, he attempted just 2.7 free throw attempts per game, hitting on 72.3 percent from the stripe. During the 2018-19 season, he's bumped his attempts to 6.2 per game, but he's knocking down just 67.8 percent.
The sample size is still small, but the improvement Fox has shown early is remarkable. He came into the season on a mission and so far, he's lived up to all the hype of a top five draft selection.
