De’Aaron Fox made a mistake, but he’s not to blame for the Spurs’ collapse

In a split second, De’Aaron Fox became the basketball world’s object of consternation. The foil. The antihero. 

It happened with less than 15 seconds left and the Spurs up 106-105. Victor Wembanyama got a defensive stop against Jalen Brunson, and Fox tipped the rebound to himself. 

What he did next will surely haunt him. 

After chasing the ball downcourt, Fox had a decision to make. Use the clock. Or go for a layup. 

He’s fast. He believed in himself. He decided to go for what he thought would be a sure-fire way to give the Spurs a three-point lead. A layup is easier to make than two free throws, after all. 

Except he miscalculated things. 

OG Anunoby met him in the paint. As Fox elevated with 11 seconds left, Anunoby made the block of his life. 

That mistake kicked open the door for the Knicks to complete the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, storming back from a 29-point deficit to win Game 4 on Wednesday, 107-106. 

The Knicks found themselves with possession of the ball. They had a relative eternity on the clock. They had a chance to clinch the game. 

Brunson attempted a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left that rimmed out. Fox, who had left Anunoby to double-team the Knicks star, then watched his man cut through the lane, elevate and tip in the ball with 1.2 seconds remaining. 

So many things went wrong for the Spurs in a hellish fourth quarter. This wasn’t Fox’s fault. It takes all five guys on the court to blow a 29-point lead, as well as the guy at the helm. But in a collapse so big, on this stage, the world needs to blame someone. 

If Fox had made the layup, he would’ve been the hero. 

But the gamble didn’t go his way. 

So instead, that play has landed him in the eye of the storm. He’s now the face of a collapse so large that it will be talked about for generations. It’s not fair. But it’s basketball. Just ask JR Smith.

The 28-year-old Fox is a veteran point guard. The Spurs traded for him in February 2025 because they trusted him to shepherd the team in clutch moments. He signed a four-year, $229 million extension with the team in August. 

Fox had a fraction of a second to make a decision. In this case, with the world watching, he happened to make the wrong one. 

“I just thought I’d be able to outrun him,” Fox said of Anunoby. “That’s it.”

For the Spurs, this series has been defined by a series of little mistakes that have had monumental consequences. 

In Game 2, Wembanyama was the fall guy after he committed a turnover with 12.7 seconds left in the Spurs’ 105-104 loss. 

On Wednesday, it was Fox’s turn to have the world point its finger at him, ring bells and chant “shame.”

Sure, Wembanyama missed two free throws with 1:47 left and the Spurs up 105-104. Sure, the Spurs went cold in the second half, shooting just 20.5 percent from the field. Fox was just a piece of the puzzle.

But his mistake was the most memorable. It was the easiest to highlight. 

The funny thing is, Fox was a hero of sorts in Game 3 after he made a jumper with 12 seconds left to help lift the Spurs to a 115-111 win. He came through when it mattered most. 

But two days later, the opposite was true. 

Overall, Fox has had a rough series. The two-time All-Star is averaging just 14.3 points over the last four games, less than half as much as his Knicks counterpart Brunson, who’s averaging 29.5 points. 

In Game 4, Fox had 18 points (but it took him 16 shots to get them), seven assists and five rebounds. He also had four turnovers, including a glaring one with two minutes left and the Spurs up 104-103 when he essentially threw the ball to Josh Hart.

You want to root for Fox. It was tough to watch. He’s sacrificing his own stats while playing alongside Wembanyama. He’s a guy who truly cares about winning above all else. 

But Fox is now firmly in the bullseye of a catastrophe that has transfixed the sports world. This game will be talked about forever. It instantly became a classic.

The Knicks are one win away from their first championship since 1973. Meanwhile, the Spurs have squandered two games by final-second errors, most recently at the hands of their point guard who was supposed to steady them in these moments.

Fox isn’t the reason why the Spurs lost Game 4. Far from it. This collapse was so much bigger than him. San Antonio was outscored in the fourth quarter, 32-16. Everyone is at fault for this disaster. 

But Fox’s blunder was the most stunning. 

It’s universally accepted that with such little time on the clock and such a paper-thin lead, the best thing to do is dribble. Let time pass. Incite panic. Draw the foul. Steal time from the opponent. Close their window to score. 

But Fox took a risk on the league’s biggest stage.

And it really didn’t work out.