The Kings were already facing an uphill battle to knock off the defending champions in their first postseason appearance in 17 years.

Now they may have to finish the job without their best player.

De’Aaron Fox is in jeopardy of missing Game 5 with a fractured index finger on his left shooting hand, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Monday.

He’s currently listed as doubtful, though there’s an outside shot he could play through the injury in Wednesday’s pivotal contest, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Stephen CurryGetty Images
The Warriors were already expected to close out this series after winning Games 3 and 4 at home to even this series at 2-2, dealing as roughly -175 favorites at most shops as of Monday morning.

That price jumped as high as -270 at FanDuel and -275 at BetMGM, with both shops pricing a six-game series at -150.

We’ve seen a similar shift for the betting odds for Game 5, which was originally priced slightly in favor of host Sacramento.

After the news of Fox’s injury, Golden State was re-installed as a 3.5-point favorite at BetMGM, which is dealing the Dubs at -175 on the moneyline.
De’Aaron Fox’s finger injury has put his status for the remainder of the series onNBAE via Getty Images
Fox fought through the pain in Game 4 to score 38 points for the second time this series, this time in a losing effort.

He’s averaged 31.5 points per game through his first four career playoff games – tied with Warriors star Stephen Curry for the third-most by any player this postseason – and he’s the only Kings player averaging more than 18 points in this series.

The former top-five pick blossomed into a star this season, averaging 25 points and 6.1 assists on 51.2% shooting to earn his first All-Star nod and win the NBA’s first-ever Clutch Player of the Year award.

If he can’t go on Wednesday, it’ll likely mean a bigger workload for fellow star Domantas Sabonis, who has scored 15 or fewer points in three of four games this series.