De'Aaron Fox ruled out for Game 1, Spurs beat Thunder in double overtime

De'Aaron Fox’s ankle did more than change a lineup card. About an hour before tipoff at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, the Spurs ruled out their starting guard for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, forcing San Antonio to reshape its pace, shot creation and late-game offense against the defending NBA champions.

Fox had tried to test the sore right ankle at the Spurs’ morning shootaround and again roughly 90 minutes before the game, but the team decided he could not go. Mitch Johnson said he did not believe the injury was something that would disappear during the series, a warning that immediately elevated the stakes for San Antonio’s title chase. Fox had entered the night averaging 18.8 points and 5.8 assists in the playoffs.

San Antonio replaced him with rookie Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, and paired him with Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. The Spurs said it was the youngest starting lineup in the history of the NBA conference finals, a gamble born as much from necessity as design. Oklahoma City also got a lift back in the form of Jalen Williams, who returned after missing six games with a left hamstring strain.

The injury did not flatten San Antonio. It sharpened the Spurs’ edge. Wembanyama delivered one of the defining performances of the postseason, finishing with 41 points and 24 rebounds, while Harper answered with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. San Antonio outlasted Oklahoma City 122-115 in double overtime and grabbed a 1-0 series lead, snapping the Thunder’s nine-game playoff winning streak.

The result gave new weight to Fox’s absence. San Antonio had been 7-3 without him entering Monday, and later improved to 8-3 without him this season, but Game 1 showed how much the Spurs were willing to ask of a teenager and a 7-foot-4 centerpiece when their veteran initiator was sidelined. Against a Thunder team that entered as the reigning champion and had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receiving his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy on the same night, Fox’s injury may end up defining the series as much as the opener itself.