Newborn King: Sacramento Kings react as De’Aaron Fox welcomes baby Reign into NBA world

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox officially announced the arrival of his newborn son as he returned to Sacramento’s starting lineup for Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets.

Kings coach Mike Brown, All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and longtime friend Malik Monk expressed happiness for Fox and his wife, former UCLA, Texas Tech and Cal point guard Recee Caldwell, who welcomed baby Reign into the world on Friday.

“We’re extremely happy,” Brown said. “You can feel how excited, how proud he is to be a father, because, obviously, before Reign was born, whenever you talk about it, you just feel a different energy coming from him and the smile on his face and him having the chain with Reign’s name on it.

“They’re going to be terrific, terrific, terrific parents. Reign’s a lucky little fella to have them as parents. We’re excited to welcome Foxy and Recee’s little son to our family.”

Fox had 16 points, four rebounds, eight assists and two steals in a 140-120 victory over the Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston. He returned after missing losses to the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans while away from the team for four days due to personal reasons.

There was widespread speculation that Fox was away due to the birth of his son, but there was no conformation from Fox or the Kings until Monday.

Fox told The Sacramento Bee baby Reign was born Friday at a hospital in Houston, saying mother and baby are in good health. Fox noted his son was born on Feb. 3, 2023.

“We got 2/3/23,” Fox said. “That’s fire.”

Michael Jordan made No. 23 an iconic figure in the NBA.

The baby narrowly missed sharing a Feb. 4 birthday with Monk, who befriended Fox on the youth basketball circuit and later teamed with him at Kentucky.

“It’s perfect,” Monk said. “That’s perfect, man, because they’re always going to remember. They’re always going to remember and I’m always going to remember that (we were) in Sac together when they had their kid.”

Monk reunited with Fox last summer when he signed with the Kings as a free agent.

“It’s crazy, especially (because) I was in college with him, and just years and years on, it’s crazy,” Monk said. “It’s just like my brother, man, that I’ve known forever, so just a happy experience.”

Sabonis rejoiced in the birth of Fox’s son and his return to the lineup.

“Awesome,” Sabonis said. “We’re excited. We’re happy for him. It’s a big moment and he’s great. He’s back with us already after two days, so it’s awesome having him back.”