De'Aaron Fox was back on the floor for the Spurs on Saturday night, but the All-Star guard was still moving carefully after a right ankle injury that has lingered since Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Minnesota. He finished Game 3 against Oklahoma City with 15 points, six assists, seven rebounds and four turnovers in nearly 31 minutes, then walked slowly out of Frost Bank Center with the ankle still tender.
Fox, 28, said the injury has made the stretch run difficult, especially after Lu Dort dove on his right ankle late in the third quarter of the Thunder's Game 3 win in the Western Conference finals. Fox returned early in the fourth quarter and stayed in the game, but his postgame comments made clear he is still dealing with the effects of the issue that started in Game 4 and was re-aggravated in Game 6 against Minnesota. He missed the first two games against the Thunder before coming back for Game 3.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely tough,” said. “I feel like (the Dort dive) was a play that could have been avoidable, but it is what it is.” He added that injuries are part of the league’s reality: “A lot of times, every team’s dealing with something. Every team’s dealing with injuries. So you chalk it up to, ‘That’s the name of the game.’”
The injury matters now because Fox is trying to power through it in his first postseason with the Spurs, and the Western Conference final against the Thunder is tight enough that every minute from a healthy creator matters. The Spurs opened Game 3 with a 15-0 run led by Fox and Victor Wembanyama, a burst that showed what the team can look like when Fox is close to himself, even if not fully right.
That tension is part of the larger picture around San Antonio, where rookie guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in last year's draft, and second-year guard Stephon Castle, the No. 4 pick in 2024, are already part of the conversation about the club's future. League-wide chatter has centered on whether they eventually need to start together, a question that could eventually affect Fox's role. For now, though, the 28-year-old said the focus is simpler. “Obviously it is disappointing not being able to be 100 percent,” said. “But like I said, I’m able to be out there, so that’s all that matters to me right now.”
