In the first round of the Western Conference playoffs G1 against the Warriors, Daron Fox cut 38 points, 5 assists and 3 steals, and Malik Monk contributed 32 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, becoming the first pair in league history to cut 32+ in the same game in their playoff debut, helping the Kings taste playoff victory again after 16 years and 350 days of waiting.
Fox's earliest acquaintance with Monk was at the Jordan Classic in 2016. Five-star high school students, also extremely talented, they joined hands to lift the MVP trophy of the competition. That same year, both were recruited by NCAA coach John Kalipari and became side-by-side backcourt partners at the University of Kentucky.
When entering the school, both Fox and Monk were eager to continue wearing the No. 5 jersey they wore in high school, and eventually Fox carried forward the spirit of Kong Rong Rang Pear, generously ceding No. 5 to Monk, and himself wearing the No. 0 shirt.
That year, the University of Kentucky had a wide range of soldiers, in addition to the pair of backcourt guns of Fox and Monk, the team also had defensive gate Bam Adebayo sitting inside. Regarded as favorites to win the championship, they made it all the way to the elite quarterfinals, but were defeated in a strong dialogue with the University of North Carolina and failed to realize their national aspirations. After his freshman season, Fox and Monk decided to enter the NBA Draft together, and Fox was selected by the Kings with the 5th pick in the first round, and Monk was recruited by the Hornets with the 11th pick in the first round.
Although they were both famous super guards in the United States in college, after entering the professional arena, Fox and Monk embarked on completely different development trajectories.
Fox has long been seen by the Kings as a cornerstone of rebuilding, and the team rejected Luka Doncic for his 2018 draft and sent away potential star Haliburton last season. And Fox has not lived up to the King's expectations, from a breakthrough Flash boy to a mid-range shooting master, and this season he was selected as an All-Star and named the league's best key player.
Compared with Fox, who was held by the king as a treasure in the palm of his hand, Munch, who entered the industry in the same year, has not been paid enough attention by the Wasp. Early in his career, he was firmly pressed off the bench by Queen Bee Kemba Walker. After finally surviving Walker, he can only be a green leaf next to Rozier and Sanqiu.
In his four seasons with the Hornets, Monk has not been able to find his role and positioning. In the final year of his rookie contract, he was already an elite shooter shooting 40.1% from three-point range, but such a good performance did not earn him a qualifying offer from the parent team. In the 2021 offseason, Monk chose to join the Lakers with a base salary, and he just wanted a chance to prove himself.
During his days as a knife guard beside James, Monk's outside firepower continued unabated, shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range and a career-high shooting percentage and points per game. In the 2022 offseason, Monk became a popular free agent, he rejected the Lakers' mini-mid-class contract, accepted an olive branch thrown by college teammate Fox, and signed a 2-year, $19 million fat contract with the Kings.
At this time, the Kings' No. 5 jersey has been worn by Fox for 5 seasons, and of course Monk can no longer snatch the knife, he chose the No. 0 jersey from Fox's college days, and the deep meaning is self-evident.
(NBA official website)