SAN ANTONIO — Just a hunch here, but Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu probably shouldn’t expect a Christmas card from De’Aaron Fox and his family this year.As the San Antonio Spurs guard slowly left Frost Bank Center on Saturday night, his right ankle still tender after Oklahoma City Thunder’s Lu Dort dove on it like a linebacker chasing a fumble late in the third quarter of the Thunder’s Game 3 win in the Western Conference finals, Fox’s mind raced back to the moment nearly two weeks before when one of his wheels was first blown out: Game 4 against Minnesota in the second round, when Dosunmu leapt for a loose ball that Fox had already scooped up and fell on the upper part of his leg in the process. It was, in the frustrated view of Fox and those closest to him as shared with The Athletic on the way out, an unnecessary and unfortunate choice that he has been paying for ever since. Ditto for the Dort dive that made it even worse.As playoff bumps and bruises go, there aren’t many injuries tougher to play through this time of year than a high ankle sprain. Especially when speed is your superpower.For Fox, the 28-year-old All-Star who re-aggravated the ankle in Game 6 against Minnesota and missed the first two games against the Thunder because of the aftereffects, it means he’s severely compromised at the most important moment of his career. Against a Thunder defense that’s as aggressive and unrelenting as they come, no less.The latest setback didn’t keep him out for long, as Fox — who spent the late third quarter biting on his towel on the bench before heading to the locker room for a closer look at the damage — would return early in the fourth. But in stark contrast to the Spurs’ scorching start, when Fox and Victor Wembanyama led the way in an explosive 15-0 run to open the game, the finish was futile. Fox had a fine-enough line overall — 15 points, six assists, seven rebounds and four turnovers in nearly 31 minutes — but it was quite clear that he’s not himself just yet.“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely tough,” Fox said after Game 3. “I feel like (the Dort dive) was a play that could have been avoidable, but it is what it is. A lot of times, every team’s dealing with something. Every team’s dealing with injuries. So you chalk it up to, ‘That’s the name of the game.’“Obviously it is disappointing not being able to be 100 percent. But like I said, I’m able to be out there, so that’s all that matters to me right now.”Yet for all of the angst that Fox is feeling at the moment, none of it appears to be of the big-picture variety. Never mind the noise that has surrounded him of late. Here he is in his first postseason with the Spurs, having forced his way to San Antonio last season as part of his Sacramento Kings exit plan, and there’s already league-wide chatter about how his time here might be cut short.The assertion, shared by rival executives and media folks alike, is that rookie guard Dylan Harper (the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft) is simply too good to come off the bench for long and will eventually need to start alongside second-year guard Stephon Castle (the No. 4 pick in 2024). And because of the cost considerations — Fox signed a four-year, $229 million deal in August — that sort of development would force tough conversations about whether Fox could remain part of the future if he was coming off the bench. Harper, for the record, has three seasons left on his deal ($12.9 million next season, a team option worth $13.6 million in 2027-28 and another team option worth $17.1 million in 2027-28).But this discussion about the Spurs’ backcourt business skips over two key factors. For starters, this is the same organization that won four titles with Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili coming off the bench and, thus, should be trusted to navigate these sorts of tricky dynamics when that time comes. Secondly, and perhaps even more important, is that neither the Spurs officials who make these sorts of decisions nor Fox’s camp are framing the conversation in this sort of way. Not yet, anyway.To hear them tell it, this is the beginning of a long relationship between Fox and the Spurs that they hope leads to multiple championships. And, more specifically, they hope Fox enjoys the sort of sustainable, stable experience that he never had with the Kings.From the time he was drafted No. 5 in 2017 to the three-team trade that sent him to San Antonio in early February 2025, Fox played under six different head coaches and two front office heads. The lights went out on the “Beam Team” far too quickly, with the Kings’ historic playoff run in 2023 (which broke a 16-year drought) followed by all-too-familiar dysfunction and, eventually, Fox’s choice to depart.With the Spurs, who have cornered the market on consistency in the NBA for decades now, Fox found a basketball home that is different in all the best ways. There’s a head coach in 39-year-old Mitch Johnson who has been deemed a worthy successor to the great Gregg Popovich, who suffered a stroke four months before Fox’s arrival that forced him to leave the sidelines. (Popovich is now the team’s president of basketball operations.) Their outlook is as bright as any other in the Association, with the Spurs appearing capable of challenging the Thunder’s reign in these past few weeks (with the New York Knicks, potentially, waiting for their chance in the NBA Finals). And then there’s Fox, who is so content in this Spurs situation that even the health woes that have made this already-daunting challenge even tougher in this series can’t keep his spirits down.“I feel like I’ve got a lot of years left in my career,” Fox, who is expected to play in Game 4 on Sunday, told The Athletic when asked if the injury was getting him down. “Plus, I’m blessed to be in this position here, and to be doing this, so I can’t feel sorry for myself.”Especially considering the pivotal part he played in the Spurs’ leap this season: With Fox averaging 18.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 72 starts this season, and the Spurs jumping from 34 wins to 62 (two behind the Thunder for the second-best record in the league), they’re closer to the top than most expected. The goal now, of course, is to play like it again from here on out.“We feel like we have the best team in the league,” Fox declared as he headed for the exits. “So we have to go out there and play the way that we’re supposed to play. We have confidence in ourselves.”