I was in 7th grade a couple hours south of Sac when John Wall had his tournament run and got drafted so I can only speak in terms of outreach. Kids would “do the John Wall” during every pickup game, every practice, and every dance. His shoes were the shoes everyone wanted and the guy wasn’t even drafted yet. He was known for his speed and explosiveness as well as his passing. I work in schools in Sac now. Even though we live in Sac, the hype for Fox is nothing compared to what it was for Wall in my hometown.
Looking back at his regular season and post season stats signal that he was a better passer, which I do remember kids talking about. He didn’t score as much as Fox does, but he was a really good scorer and averaged high teens in a time when only a handful of players averaged more than 20 points. The most telling factor though is that he got his team out of the first round twice. I’d say if Fox’s career ended today, then John Wall had a better career. If Fox gets us significantly more than 50 wins in a season (something Wall never did with his Wizards) and gets us out of the second round then he passes Wall in my eyes.
Two of my favorite duos were Derozan and Lowry and Dame and CJ. Hopefully Fox and Sabonis have more success.