De’Aaron Fox isn’t pretending the 2026 NBA Finals went smoothly, and he’s not losing sleep over the noise around it either.
The Spurs guard, whose postseason went from strong to shaky after an ankle injury, said in an interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears that he never really took in the criticism that followed his rough finish against the Knicks.
“I don’t have basketball on my timeline,” Fox said. “No one is calling me talking.
I can’t do nothing about all the other things. Everybody has a podcast.
Everyone thinks their opinion matters.”
Fox’s first-round work against the Portland Trail Blazers looked like the version San Antonio needed. He averaged 20.0 points and 6.8 assists per game while shooting 50.0% from the field as the Spurs rolled through that series 4-1.
Things changed in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fox had not been at his best, and Game 4 brought the moment that altered the rest of his postseason. Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu landed on Fox’s ankle while diving for a loose ball, leaving the two-time All-Star with a right high ankle sprain.
“I was the second-leading scorer when I got hurt,” Fox said.
At that point in the playoffs, Fox was averaging 18.7 points per game and shooting 44.7% from the field. The injury was the kind that usually sidelines players for weeks, but he pushed on, returning for Games 5 and 6 and helping the Spurs move on. In the closeout game, he put up 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting and handed out nine assists.
That comeback carried into the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, though not right away. Fox missed the first two games with the ankle sprain before coming back for Game 3.
“Why did I play? I felt like I could help the team,” Fox said.
“Seeing the OKC series, I thought there were things I could come out there and help with. If you ask any player - and you could use Tyrese [Haliburton] as the biggest [example] for that - you know there is a chance you could get hurt if you have a calf strain.
And he was like, ‘Oh, this is Game 7 of the [2025 NBA] Finals. And for me, there is nothing more I want to do than play in this game.’
“This is my first time being in the conference finals, first time being in the Finals,” Fox added. “So, of course I want to play.”
His return helped steady San Antonio’s ball handling after turnover problems hit early in the Thunder series. Stephon Castle had 20 turnovers after Game 2, and Fox took some of that pressure off the young guard. The Spurs eventually got past Oklahoma City in seven games.
Then came the collapse that everyone remembers.
San Antonio entered Game 4 of the Finals trailing 2-1, then built a lead as large as 29 points in the third quarter. But the Knicks stormed back, and with under 20 seconds left, New York still trailed 106-105.
The Spurs had the ball. Fox’s job was simple: protect it, get fouled, and finish the possession.
Instead, he went for a layup in transition, OG Anunoby blocked it, and on the next trip Jalen Brunson missed a shot that Anunoby tipped in for the win.
“I’ve definitely thought about it,” Fox said. “It happened.
Obviously, knowing the outcome, I’d definitely try to play it differently. It happened.
I can’t say I thought about it in the past month as we’ve gotten ready for this season. But I thought about it over the summer, for sure.”
That loss pushed the Spurs into a 3-1 hole, and New York finished the job by winning Game 5 as well, ending its 53-year title drought.
Fox’s Finals line tells the rest of the story. He finished the series at 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 34.3% from the field and 25.0% from three.
The decline after the injury was even sharper. From the point Fox got hurt on, he averaged 13.3 points on 38.6% shooting, a far cry from the player who opened the postseason against Portland.
“I played more games in the playoffs hurt than I did healthy,” Fox said. “It is what it is.
It happened. People can talk.
It’s no sweat off my back.”
Criticism followed, as it always does when a star struggles in the spotlight. And in Fox’s case, it came with the added twist of people questioning why he played through the injury at all.
Some wondered if San Antonio might explore trading him in the offseason, but that idea faded quickly. His four-year, $229 million extension begins this season, and the Spurs are betting he’ll bounce back after acquiring him from the Sacramento Kings in February 2025.
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