The San Antonio Spurs announced they have shut down De’Aaron Fox for the season to schedule surgery to repair tendon damage in his left pinkie. The injury actually happened back in October, while he was still with the Sacramento Kings. He told the Sacramento Bee in November that he suffered a dislocation in training camp, and had been playing through it.
On Saturday following an overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors, Fox said he dislocated his pinkie during an early training camp practice and had X-rays that returned negative. The injury has not healed, he said.
“(It’s) probably a ligament,” Fox told The Sacramento Bee.
Fox has said the injury would likely take a month to fully recover from, but he plans to continue to play through it, much like when Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis had similar hand injuries in 2022. Sabonis had an avulsion fracture on his right thumb.
Already missing superstar Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs defeated the injury-plagued Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night, 126-116. Combined with the Portland Trail Blazers’ 114-113 overtime loss to the New York Knicks, San Antonio actually jumped back over Portland into the 12th spot in the West, despite a 3-7 record in their last ten games.
The Spurs and Blazers are currently locked into a group of teams within a few wins, for which the final position can create a significantly higher or lower chance of a top-4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. Here are the current positions, their record, and their chances of winning a top-4 pick in the lottery.
20. Miami Heat (29-36): 9.4% chance
21. San Antonio Spurs (27-37): 13.9% chance
22. Portland Trail Blazers (28-39): 20.2% chance
23. Chicago Bulls (27-38): 26.2% chance
The Spurs’ next two games are Friday against the 16-49 Charlotte Hornets, and Saturday against the 18-48 New Orleans Pelicans. Without Fox, who had 32 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds in their win against Dallas, San Antonio will have a tougher time winning either game.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers have a nice break at home for the rest of the week, and pick up action Sunday afternoon against the 23-43 Toronto Raptors.