Rick Fox

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Fox was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. As a member of the Celtics, Fox became the first rookie starter on opening night since Larry Bird in 1979 and made the 1992 NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 8 points per game. By the 1995–96 season, Fox became the team's starting small forward and achieved double-figure scoring. He recorded career highs of 15.4 points a game and 2.2 steals a game (fifth in the league) and made 101 three-point field goals in the 1996–97 season.

In Their Own Story

In the summer of 1997, the Celtics released Rick Fox, ending his six-year run in Boston. He immediately signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played and started all 82 games during the 1997–98 season, averaging 12 points per game. The following year, he served primarily as a backup to newly acquired All-Star Glen Rice before stepping into a starting role again in 1999–2000. That postseason proved pivotal: Fox played all 23 playoff games as the Lakers reached the NBA Finals against Indiana. In Game 6 of that series, with Boston's former player leading a fourth-quarter rally, Fox hit a critical three-pointer to help secure his first NBA title.

Reader's Guide

Fox played internationally for Canada twice at the 1990 and 1994 FIBA World Championships.

Did You Know?

• Fox was born in Toronto, Canada, to a Bahamian father and a Canadian mother of Italian and Scottish descent.
• He attended Kingsway Academy in Nassau and also played high school basketball in Warsaw, Indiana.
• Fox was voted onto the Indiana All-Star team in 1987 despite not playing his senior season due to an IHSAA eligibility ruling.
• In the 2000 NBA Finals, Fox hit a critical three-pointer in Game 6 to help the Lakers win the title.
• Fox appeared in the film Holes as Clyde 'Sweetfeet' Livingston.