The San Antonio Spurs will be without their starting point guard to open the Western Conference Finals.
De'Aaron Fox will miss Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday (Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+, 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT) due to an ankle injury, per multiple reports.
Fox had yet to miss a playoff game for San Antonio this season, averaging 18.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals across 11 appearances, not far off his regular-season averages of 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals through 72 games en route to a second career all-star nod.
The news comes as a sudden shift after head coach Mitch Johnson previously said the all-star guard was expected to suit up.
Earlier on Monday, Fox indicated that his status would ultimately come down to how his ankle responds during an adjusted pre-game routine, adding that he was “just going through the day” to determine his availability.
Fox first suffered the injury in Game 4 of the West Semis vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves when Ayo Dosunmu landed on the Spurs guard's right ankle while diving for a loose ball midway through the third quarter. Fox has been dealing with ankle soreness since then.
The Spurs announced that Dylan Harper will start Game 1 against OKC in place of Fox, although sophomore Stephon Castle will likely take on the bulk of ball-handling duties in the veteran's absence. As for the rookie, he enters Monday averaging 13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals through 11 games off the bench.
In the regular season, Harper averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists through 69 games (four starts).
