De'Aaron Fox Selects His All-Time Kentucky Wildcats Starting 5

De'Aaron Fox is one of the many former University of Kentucky stars to star in the NBA and during an appearance on FanDuel TV's Run It Back podcast, he was asked to share his all-time Wildcats starting five. With so many greats to pick from, Fox decided he was only going to look at players from the John Calipari era (2009 to 2024).

"Man, that's a lot of guys," Fox said. "I'mma go Cal era 'cuz then you could be going to Jodie Meeks and all those guys and Jamal Mashburn. I'll go me, Book (Devin Booker), AD (Anthony Davis), Bam (Adebayo)—cuz Bam want to play the four so bad... I need somebody that shoot the ball. In college who good? We'll go Malik (Monk)."

"We got a great frontline, we got a great backline and we got three guys that can really put the ball in the basket," Fox stated. "I mean, AD puts the ball in the basket too but we gotta get some guys to shoot the ball, so that's a good one."

That is a good starting five. Let's take a look at the selections one by one.

Fox was the point guard and co-host Chandler Parsons had stated that he obviously had to go with himself there. In his only season at Kentucky in 2016-17, he averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He was named SEC Tournament MVP and led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight.

The Sacramento Kings then drafted Fox with the fifth pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. He has certified justified that selection, having made one All-Star team and one All-NBA team.

Fox's Kings teammate Malik Monk is the shooting guard in his team. Monk averaged 19.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for Kentucky in the 2016-17 campaign. He was named SEC Player of the Year and like Fox, led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight.

The Charlotte Hornets selected Monk with the 11th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft and while he hasn't become a star, he has become a pretty good player. He finished runner-up for SMOY in 2024 and has had a fine start to this season as well.

Fox went with Devin Booker for the small forward spot and he is an interesting selection. Booker was a reserve in his only season at Kentucky, averaging 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2014-15. He was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year and helped the Wildcats get to the Final Four.

The Phoenix Suns selected Booker with the 13th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft and he shone when given a bigger role. He is now a four-time All-Star and has made two All-NBA teams.

Bam Adebayo is Fox's power forward and he averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game in his only season at Kentucky, 2016-17. He was a teammate of Monk's and made Second-team All-SEC that year.

The Miami Heat drafted Adebayo with the 14th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft and he has become one of the better big men in the league today. He is a three-time All-Star who has also made four All-Defensive teams.

Anthony Davis comes in at center for Fox's team and was a fairly obvious selection. Davis averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 4.7 blocks per game for the Wildcats in 2011-12. He led them to the national title and was named the national college player of the year and the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Davis' heroics in college made him the obvious top prospect and the New Orleans Hornets selected him with the first pick in 2012. It certainly wasn't a mistake, as he is now a nine-time All-Star who has made five All-NBA teams and five All-Defensive teams. He also won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

So, Fox went with a pretty good team, but with so many good options to pick from, it was inevitable that there would be a fair few notable omissions. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jamal Murray are some of the names that come to mind and you could make a strong case for any of them to make it in.