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 Devin Vassell will start Game 1 against OKC in place of Fox, but sophomore Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper will likely take on the bulk of ball-handling duties in the veteran's absence.
Vassell enters Monday averaging 12.5points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals through 11 playoff games off the bench. He averaged 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists across 67 regular-season games, 65 of which were off the bench. Vassell averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his two starts.
