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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: De'Aaron Fox #4 of the San Antonio Spurs in action during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Frost Bank Center on December 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

De’Aaron Fox’s NBA Finals struggles have become one of the loudest storylines around the San Antonio Spurs.

Fox was under heavy criticism during Game 5 against the New York Knicks after another inefficient offensive night. The New York Knicks won the NBA Finals 4-1 with a 94-90 victory in San Antonio on June 13.

The Spurs guard finished with 7 points on 3-of-15 shooting, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range, while adding 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no rebounds.

That line would have drawn attention on its own. The timing made it worse.

Fox’s fourth-quarter play became a target as the Spurs’ offense tightened up late. ClutchPoints reporter Brett Siegel posted that Fox “lost it for the Spurs with everything he’s done in the fourth quarter,” a reaction that captured how quickly the conversation shifted from missed shots to late-game trust.

The criticism also came from national NBA voices. Kevin O’Connor wrote that Fox had made “so many bonehead plays this series you’d think he’s the rookie guard, not the veteran.” In another post, O’Connor argued that Charles Barkley was right that the Spurs “have to bench Fox,” adding that Dylan Harper had been “by far the more effective guard.”

Tom Haberstroh noted that Stephon Castle was 0-of-7 with 2 turnovers, but said the fact that so much attention remained on Fox showed how poorly the veteran guard had played.

Even Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy joined in, posting during Game 5: “WHY IS FOX SHOOTING EVERY SHOT!” Portnoy also used a more inflammatory line about Fox being “on the take,” which should be treated as hyperbole rather than reporting. But the post reflected how far the backlash had spread as Fox kept firing through another difficult Finals game.

De’Aaron Fox’s NBA Finals Stats Have Put Him in a Tough Spot

Fox’s Game 5 performance was not an isolated problem.

He opened the Finals with 7 points on 3-of-13 shooting in San Antonio’s Game 1 loss to New York. He responded with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Game 2, but the consistency has not been there since.

In Game 3, Fox finished with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting, though he added 8 assists and hit a late shot in a Spurs win. Then came Game 4, when Fox had 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers as San Antonio blew a 29-point lead in a 107-106 loss. Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer wrote that Fox’s late gaffe helped “give Game 4 away” during the Knicks’ historic comeback.

Through five Finals games, Fox had scored 64 total points, an average of 12.8 points per game.

For a role player, that might be survivable. For Fox, it is a problem.

The Spurs are not asking him to be Victor Wembanyama. They are not even asking him to carry the offense every night. But Fox is supposed to be the steady veteran guard who can settle possessions, attack matchups and close games when defenses load up on Wembanyama.

Instead, the Finals have made fans ask whether San Antonio’s best late-game backcourt might need more Harper and less Fox.

Dylan Harper’s Rise Has Made Fox’s Struggles Look Worse

The Fox criticism is sharper because Harper has looked ready for the moment.

Harper gave San Antonio major bench production in Game 5 and became one of the few rookies in NBA history to score 20-plus points in consecutive Finals games, according to The Guardian’s live coverage.

That matters because the Spurs are no longer comparing Fox only to the standard version of himself. They are comparing his decision-making and shot creation to Harper’s.

That is a dangerous place for a veteran guard to be.

Harper is allowed to make rookie mistakes. Castle is allowed to have rough offensive stretches. Even Wembanyama, despite being San Antonio’s franchise centerpiece, is still navigating his first Finals run.

Fox is different. He is the established guard. He is the player San Antonio paid to help accelerate the timeline around Wembanyama. When he looks rushed late and Harper looks composed, the lineup debate becomes unavoidable.

Fox’s Spurs Contract Raises the Stakes

The money is part of the story, too.

Fox agreed to a four-year, $229 million maximum contract extension with the Spurs in August 2025, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. The deal keeps Fox under contract with San Antonio through the 2029-30 season.

Spotrac lists Fox’s Spurs extension at four years and $221.76 million guaranteed, with an average annual salary of $55.44 million.

That does not mean Fox has to dominate every Finals game. It does mean the Spurs need him to be more than a shaky third option when the season is on the line.

San Antonio’s bigger picture is still strong. Wembanyama is the franchise. Harper looks like a long-term building block. Castle has already shown enough defensive and playmaking flashes to remain central to the team’s future.

But Fox’s contract ties him directly to the next stage of the Spurs’ title window. If the Knicks finish the job, his Finals struggles will not be remembered as a random cold stretch. They will become part of a larger offseason question about how San Antonio should structure its closing lineups around Wembanyama.

For now, Fox is still the Spurs’ veteran point guard. But after Game 5, the pressure around him is no longer subtle.