De'Aaron Fox will take the floor Tuesday in Oklahoma City when the San Antonio Spurs visit for Game 5 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals, the series tied 2-2 after San Antonio thumped the Thunder 103-82 on Sunday.
The margin in Game 4 left no doubt: the Spurs led by as many as 25 points behind Victor Wembanyama’s 33 points and eight rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander managed 19 points and seven assists for Oklahoma City and Chet Holmgren had 10 points and nine rebounds. Fox finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds; Stephon Castle added 13 points and six assists for San Antonio. Tipoff in Oklahoma City was set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
Fox’s presence on the floor has been the storyline for San Antonio through the series. His right ankle first flared in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he re-aggravated it in Game 6 against Minnesota, and he missed the first two games of this West final because of the aftereffects. He returned in Game 3 against the Thunder after going to the locker room for a closer look early in the fourth quarter and finished that night with 15 points, six assists, seven rebounds and four turnovers in nearly 31 minutes.
Fox has been candid about the limits. "Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely tough," he said after Game 3. "I feel like (the Dort dive) was a play that could have been avoidable, but it is what it is." He added, "Obviously it is disappointing not being able to be 100 percent," then tempered that, "But like I said, I’m able to be out there, so that’s all that matters to me right now." An article with live coverage of the series noted the Spurs guard was forced to leave Frost Bank Center on Saturday night while his right ankle was still tender.
The Thunder enter Game 5 thin. Jalen Williams was listed as questionable with a hamstring strain, Ajay Mitchell was out with a soleus strain and Thomas Sorber was out with a torn ACL for the game. San Antonio, by contrast, had nobody on its injury report. Those lists make clear why the upcoming matchup matters now: the series was tied 2-2, but Game 4’s blowout and the availability swings on Oklahoma City’s side reshape immediate strategy and rotation decisions.
That contrast is the tension here. San Antonio rode a dominant performance — 33 from Wembanyama and balanced supporting scoring — into a return to Oklahoma City where De'Aaron Fox remains visibly less than whole. The Thunder’s injury entries hand the okc coach limited options on the bench; the Spurs arrive with health and a recent 21-point margin of victory. Which narrative is stronger — San Antonio’s top-end burst or Oklahoma City’s ability to absorb absences — will define the next swing in a series that could tilt toward a team with momentum and depth.
The single, consequential question heading into Tuesday’s Game 5 is this: can Fox, playing through a tender ankle, sustain the level San Antonio needs while the Thunder try to regroup without multiple contributors? How the guard responds and how the okc coach adjusts rotations under those injury constraints will likely decide which side gains the advantage in the 2-2 series before it moves deeper into the playoffs.
