De'Aaron Fox is gritting his way through a high ankle sprain in the NBA Finals to keep the Spurs alive against the Knicks. On The Pat McAfee Show, NBA insider Brian Windhorst revealed that Fox is "doing some stuff to get himself to play because that ankle ain't right," fighting through severe pain to remain on the floor.
The narrative around Fox's impact has shifted rapidly game-by-game. After a rocky start to the series, Dan Katz noted on Pardon My Take that Fox answered his critics after being "bad in game one" with an incredibly efficient and aggressive Game 2. Still, the team's late-game execution has drawn fire. Pat McAfee pointed out moments where players seemed lost with only seconds remaining on the clock. On The Ringer NBA Show, analyst J. Kyle Mann described a wider "crisis of who are your creators," arguing that Fox and teammate Victor Wembanyama both face heavy limitations on how they can be effective.
Yet when the game was on the line in Game 3, Fox silenced the doubters. Rob Mahoney of The Bill Simmons Podcast praised Fox for taking on the toughest matchups directly, specifically going "one-on-one against OG Anunoby, which is like, uh, playing tug-of-war with a Doberman." Mahoney also credited Fox with making the biggest shot of the night and a crucial defensive block on Karl-Anthony Towns. On the same network, Howard Beck confessed he previously thought Fox was "expendable" given the Spurs' young core, but admitted Fox's clutch turnaround jumper proved exactly why the team needs his veteran presence.
With the series hanging in the balance, the Spurs will have to rely on Fox's ability to manage his high ankle sprain and continue hitting tough, heavily-contested shots against a physical New York defense.