By Sam Amick | The Athletic, 2026-05-24 09:00:34
圣安东尼奥——这只是一个直觉，但明尼苏达森林狼队后卫阿约·多苏姆 (Ayo Dosunmu) 今年大概别指望能收到德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 及其家人寄来的圣诞贺卡了。
周六晚上，当这位圣安东尼奥马刺队的后卫缓缓离开霜冻银行中心（Frost Bank Center）时，他的右脚踝依然隐隐作痛。在西部决赛第三场俄克拉荷马雷霆队获胜的比赛中，第三节后半段，雷霆队的卢·多特 (Lu Dort) 扑向地板球，像美式橄榄球线卫争抢掉球一样压在了他的脚踝上。此时，福克斯的思绪飞回到了大约两周前，当时他的“轮子”（双腿）第一次被废掉的瞬间：那是季后赛次轮对阵森林狼的第四场比赛，多苏姆扑向一个已被福克斯收入怀中的地板球，并在过程中压在了福克斯的大腿上。在福克斯以及与他最亲近的人看来，这是一个完全没有必要且令人遗憾的选择，他也因此一直付出代价。他们在离开球馆时向 The Athletic 表达了这种沮丧。多特的那次飞扑更是雪上加霜，同样让人感到无奈。
在季后赛的各种磕磕碰碰中，在这个时节，几乎没有比高位脚踝扭伤更难带伤坚持的伤病了。特别是当速度是你的终极武器时。
对于28岁的全明星福克斯来说，他在对阵森林狼的第六场比赛中再次加重了脚踝伤势，并因伤势后遗症缺席了对阵雷霆的前两场比赛。这意味着在他职业生涯最重要的时刻，他的实力大打折扣。更不用说，他面对的还是雷霆队那强悍且毫无喘息机会的防守。
这一次的意外倒地并没有让他缺席太久。第三节末段，福克斯在替补席上咬着毛巾，随后走回更衣室接受进一步检查，但在第四节伊始他便重新披挂上阵。然而，这与马刺队火热的开局形成了鲜明对比。开场时，福克斯和维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 联手率队打出了一波15-0的进攻高潮，但比赛的收尾却显得无能为力。福克斯的全场数据其实还算体面——在近31分钟的出场时间里贡献了15分、6次助攻、7个篮板，但也有4次失误——但显而易见的是，他还没有恢复到最佳状态。
“是的，我是说，这确实很艰难，”福克斯在第三场比赛后说道，“我觉得（多特的飞扑）是一个本可以避免的动作，但事情已经发生了。很多时候，每支球队都在面临各种各样的困难，每支球队都在应对伤病。所以你只能释怀，‘这就是竞技体育的一部分。’
“无法以100%的状态出战显然令人失望。但正如我所说，我还能上场，这对我来说就是目前最重要的事情。”
尽管福克斯目前深感焦虑，但这些焦虑似乎都与大局无关。更不用去理会最近围绕在他身边的那些流言蜚语。这是他加盟马刺后的首个季后赛，上赛季他作为离开萨克拉门托国王队计划的一部分，主动寻求交易加盟圣安东尼奥，而现在联盟中已经开始有传言称，他在这里的时光可能会被提前缩短。
竞争对手的高管和媒体人士普遍认为，新秀后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)（去年的榜眼秀）实力太强，不可能长期担任替补，他最终需要与二年级后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)（2024年的4号秀）搭档首发。而考虑到薪资成本——福克斯在8月份签署了一份为期四年、价值2.29亿美元的合同——这种人员发展趋势将引发艰难的讨论：如果福克斯沦为替补，他是否还能继续留在球队的未来蓝图中。顺便提一句，哈珀的合同还剩三年（下赛季1290万美元，2027-28赛季价值1360万美元的球队选项，以及2028-29赛季价值1710万美元的另一个球队选项）。
但这种关于马刺后场事务的讨论忽略了两个关键因素。首先，正是这支球队，曾在名人堂成员马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 担任替补的情况下赢得了四座总冠军奖杯，因此，当那一天到来时，人们完全可以相信他们有能力处理好这种棘手的动态关系。其次，或许也是更重要的一点，无论是做出这类决策的马刺管理层，还是福克斯的经纪团队，都没有以这种方式来定性这次对话。至少现在还没有。
听双方的口风，这只是福克斯与马刺长期合作关系的开始，他们希望这段合作能带来多个总冠军。更具体地说，他们希望福克斯能在这里获得他在国王队从未体验过的持续、稳定的环境。
从2017年以首轮第5顺位被选中，到2025年2月初通过三方交易被送往圣安东尼奥，福克斯在六位不同的主教练和两位不同的管理层首脑手下效力过。“点灯军团 (Beam Team)”的辉煌熄灭得太快了，国王队在2023年历史性地打进季后赛（打破了长达16年的季后赛荒），但紧接着便是人们再熟悉不过的混乱，并最终导致福克斯选择离开。
而在几十年来一直以稳定著称的马刺队，福克斯找到了一个在各方面都好得不能再好的篮球之家。这里有39岁的主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson)，他被视为伟大的格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 的合格接班人——在福克斯加盟前四个月，波波维奇不幸中风，不得不离开教练席（波波维奇目前担任球队的篮球运营总裁）。他们的前景和联盟中任何一支球队一样光明，马刺在过去几周里展现出了挑战雷霆统治地位的实力（而纽约尼克斯队则可能在总决赛中静候他们的挑战）。还有福克斯自己，他对在马刺的现状感到非常满意，以至于即便伤病让本就艰难的系列赛变得更加不易，也无法击垮他的斗志。
“我觉得我的职业生涯还有很多年，”预计将在周日第四场比赛中出战的福克斯在被 The Athletic 问及伤病是否让他感到沮丧时说道，“此外，能处在现在的位置并为之奋斗，我已经感到非常幸运了，所以我不能自怨自艾。”
尤其是考虑到他在马刺本赛季实现飞跃中所扮演的关键角色：本赛季福克斯在72场首发中场均贡献18.6分、6.2次助攻和3.8个篮板，马刺队的胜场数也从34场飙升至62场（仅落后雷霆队两场，位列联盟第二好成绩），他们比大多数人预期的更接近巅峰。当然，现在的目标是从今往后继续保持这样的高水准发挥。
“我们觉得我们拥有联盟中最好的球队，”福克斯在走向出口时坚定地表示，“所以我们必须上场，打出我们应有的表现。我们对自己充满信心。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Spurs' De'Aaron Fox 'can't feel sorry for myself' as he fights through ankle injury
Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox ‘can’t feel sorry for myself’ as he fights through ankle injury
SAN ANTONIO — Just a hunch here, but Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu probably shouldn’t expect a Christmas card from De’Aaron Fox and his family this year.
As the San Antonio Spurs guard slowly left Frost Bank Center on Saturday night, his right ankle still tender after Oklahoma City Thunder’s Lu Dort dove on it like a linebacker chasing a fumble late in the third quarter of the Thunder’s Game 3 win in the Western Conference finals, Fox’s mind raced back to the moment nearly two weeks before when one of his wheels was first blown out: Game 4 against Minnesota in the second round, when Dosunmu leapt for a loose ball that Fox had already scooped up and fell on the upper part of his leg in the process. It was, in the frustrated view of Fox and those closest to him as shared with The Athletic on the way out, an unnecessary and unfortunate choice that he has been paying for ever since. Ditto for the Dort dive that made it even worse.
As playoff bumps and bruises go, there aren’t many injuries tougher to play through this time of year than a high ankle sprain. Especially when speed is your superpower.
For Fox, the 28-year-old All-Star who re-aggravated the ankle in Game 6 against Minnesota and missed the first two games against the Thunder because of the aftereffects, it means he’s severely compromised at the most important moment of his career. Against a Thunder defense that’s as aggressive and unrelenting as they come, no less.
The latest setback didn’t keep him out for long, as Fox — who spent the late third quarter biting on his towel on the bench before heading to the locker room for a closer look at the damage — would return early in the fourth. But in stark contrast to the Spurs’ scorching start, when Fox and Victor Wembanyama led the way in an explosive 15-0 run to open the game, the finish was futile. Fox had a fine-enough line overall — 15 points, six assists, seven rebounds and four turnovers in nearly 31 minutes — but it was quite clear that he’s not himself just yet.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely tough,” Fox said after Game 3. “I feel like (the Dort dive) was a play that could have been avoidable, but it is what it is. A lot of times, every team’s dealing with something. Every team’s dealing with injuries. So you chalk it up to, ‘That’s the name of the game.’
“Obviously it is disappointing not being able to be 100 percent. But like I said, I’m able to be out there, so that’s all that matters to me right now.”
Yet for all of the angst that Fox is feeling at the moment, none of it appears to be of the big-picture variety. Never mind the noise that has surrounded him of late. Here he is in his first postseason with the Spurs, having forced his way to San Antonio last season as part of his Sacramento Kings exit plan, and there’s already league-wide chatter about how his time here might be cut short.
The assertion, shared by rival executives and media folks alike, is that rookie guard Dylan Harper (the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft) is simply too good to come off the bench for long and will eventually need to start alongside second-year guard Stephon Castle (the No. 4 pick in 2024). And because of the cost considerations — Fox signed a four-year, $229 million deal in August — that sort of development would force tough conversations about whether Fox could remain part of the future if he was coming off the bench. Harper, for the record, has three seasons left on his deal ($12.9 million next season, a team option worth $13.6 million in 2027-28 and another team option worth $17.1 million in 2027-28).
But this discussion about the Spurs’ backcourt business skips over two key factors. For starters, this is the same organization that won four titles with Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili coming off the bench and, thus, should be trusted to navigate these sorts of tricky dynamics when that time comes. Secondly, and perhaps even more important, is that neither the Spurs officials who make these sorts of decisions nor Fox’s camp are framing the conversation in this sort of way. Not yet, anyway.
To hear them tell it, this is the beginning of a long relationship between Fox and the Spurs that they hope leads to multiple championships. And, more specifically, they hope Fox enjoys the sort of sustainable, stable experience that he never had with the Kings.
From the time he was drafted No. 5 in 2017 to the three-team trade that sent him to San Antonio in early February 2025, Fox played under six different head coaches and two front office heads. The lights went out on the “Beam Team” far too quickly, with the Kings’ historic playoff run in 2023 (which broke a 16-year drought) followed by all-too-familiar dysfunction and, eventually, Fox’s choice to depart.
With the Spurs, who have cornered the market on consistency in the NBA for decades now, Fox found a basketball home that is different in all the best ways. There’s a head coach in 39-year-old Mitch Johnson who has been deemed a worthy successor to the great Gregg Popovich, who suffered a stroke four months before Fox’s arrival that forced him to leave the sidelines. (Popovich is now the team’s president of basketball operations.) Their outlook is as bright as any other in the Association, with the Spurs appearing capable of challenging the Thunder’s reign in these past few weeks (with the New York Knicks, potentially, waiting for their chance in the NBA Finals). And then there’s Fox, who is so content in this Spurs situation that even the health woes that have made this already-daunting challenge even tougher in this series can’t keep his spirits down.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of years left in my career,” Fox, who is expected to play in Game 4 on Sunday, told The Athletic when asked if the injury was getting him down. “Plus, I’m blessed to be in this position here, and to be doing this, so I can’t feel sorry for myself.”
Especially considering the pivotal part he played in the Spurs’ leap this season: With Fox averaging 18.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 72 starts this season, and the Spurs jumping from 34 wins to 62 (two behind the Thunder for the second-best record in the league), they’re closer to the top than most expected. The goal now, of course, is to play like it again from here on out.
“We feel like we have the best team in the league,” Fox declared as he headed for the exits. “So we have to go out there and play the way that we’re supposed to play. We have confidence in ourselves.”
By Sam Amick, via The Athletic