Here's how De’Aaron Fox fires up teammates with brutally honest take before NBA Finals push

De’Aaron Fox continues to be a well-known figure around the basketball world, and his veteran influence clearly stands out even on the San Antonio Spurs roster that leans heavily on young talent. At 28, he has taken on a leadership role, and on Tuesday he delivered a strong message to the younger players.

“There's a reason that we're in the Finals,” Fox said. “There's a reason that we won 60 games. There's a reason we didn't lose three games in a row the whole year. So we don't want to get to this place and then start changing the way we play.”

Fox, who spent the first seven-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings and helped end their 17-year playoff drought, is now thriving in the Spurs’ phenomenal run. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists while shooting 49% from the field in the regular season.

Heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Fox received positive injury news as he has been cleared and is no longer listed on the injury report. He had previously battled through an ankle issue to finish the Western Conference Finals.

Meanwhile, the NBA Finals between Fox's squad and the Knicks arrive amid massive playoff viewership, with this year’s postseason becoming the most-watched in 28 years, averaging 5.3 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video. The Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder also drew huge numbers, averaging 10.8 million viewers, the highest for a conference finals in 24 years. 

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