The San Antonio Spurs will be without their starting point guard De’Aaron Fox for Monday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder after he was sidelined due to a sprained right ankle.
Fox had been listed with a questionable status on Monday afternoon before team officials made the final call to hold him out less than an hour before the game’s start time.
Head coach Mitch Johnson had expressed optimism that Fox would be cleared to play when speaking with the media shortly before the official announcement was made.
During the team’s midday practice session, Fox informed reporters that he planned to test his injured ankle before making a final determination about his availability.
The ankle injury occurred during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals when the Spurs faced the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota’s Ayo Dosunmu accidentally stepped on Fox’s ankle while both players were going after a loose ball.
Despite the injury, Fox managed to participate in the series’ final two contests, contributing 18 points in Game 5 and 21 points in Game 6. In the deciding game, he made 8 of his 10 field goal attempts and recorded nine assists.
The 28-year-old guard has posted averages of 18.8 points and 5.8 assists across 11 playoff games this season. Throughout the regular season, he maintained similar production with 18.6 points and 6.2 assists per game over 72 starts, which earned him his second All-Star selection.
With Fox unavailable, rookie Dylan Harper and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson are expected to take on expanded responsibilities in the lineup.
Forward Luke Kornet, who had also been questionable with a left foot issue, has been cleared to participate in Monday’s game.
