When De’Aaron Fox knew Spurs had a chance to make NBA Finals

On Saturday night, the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center.

De’Aaron Fox, who joined San Antonio in a three-team trade six weeks after being dealt by the Sacramento Kings, helped the Spurs secure their first Finals appearance since 2014.

“Coming here my first full year, being able to be in the finals, I don’t know if I thought that, but I knew we were going to have a damn good team,” said Fox after the win. “We continued to get better throughout the course of the season. By the time we got to the all-star break, I was like, ‘It could be real. We definitely have a chance this year.'”

San Antonio completed a 4-3 series victory over Oklahoma City after facing a 3-2 deficit. The Spurs opened the conference finals with a double-overtime win behind Victor Wembanyama’s 41 points and 24 rebounds, and stayed alive with clutch performances throughout the series, including Wembanyama’s 33-point effort in Game 4.

In Game 7, Wembanyama led San Antonio with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Julian Champagnie scored 20 points. Fox contributed 15 points, five assists and three steals as seven the Spurs players finished in double figures. San Antonio shot 43% from three-point range and built an early 14-point lead by capitalizing on transition opportunities and ball security.

Wembanyama was named Western Conference Finals MVP after averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 48% from the field during the series. The 7-foot-4 star has now reached the NBA Finals in just his third season and first playoff appearance.

The Spurs’ playoff path included a first-round win over the Portland Trail Blazers, a six-game second-round series victory against th Minnesota Timberwolves, and the upset of a Thunder team that entered the postseason after sweeping both the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Oklahoma City, led by two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, had started the season 24-1 before their title defense ended against San Antonio.

The Spurs will now meet the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, a rematch of the 1999 championship series. New York enter the matchup on an 11-game postseason winning streak under first-year coach Mike Brown, setting up a Finals showdown that will also pit Brown against Fox, his former star player in Sacramento.

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