De’Aaron Fox was backed to take San Antonio to “whole different level” after a Spurs debut to remember in a 126-125 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Fox, appearing for the first time since his trade from Sacramento on Sunday, wow his new team with 24 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
The performance marked the first time in franchise history that a player making his Spurs debut tallied at least 20 points and 10 assists as he scored or assisted on a whopping 56 points.
“Selfishly, as a coach, I think that’s probably about as complete of a game you’d hope for the first game,” San Antonio acting coach Mitch Johnson said.
“You saw the potential. It’s tantalizing. He’s dynamic. He’s going to unlock a whole different element for our team.”
De’Aaron Fox’s first points as a Spur! pic.twitter.com/3UTqrMQ1Nz
— NBA (@NBA) February 6, 2025
With 2.9 seconds left and the score tied at 125, Chris Paul passed to Fox on an inbound play. The Spurs ran a high pick-and-roll, and as Victor Wembanyama rolled to the basket, De’Andre Hunter left him to double-team Fox with Dyson Daniels.
Seeing the defense shift, Fox lobbed a pass to Wembanyama as he cut to the basket.
“He just bring a lot to the table for us,” Wembanyama said.
“Our goals for the season are even more attainable. We get to use all our strengths and we just added a big strength.”
And Fox seems similarly excited about being Wembanyama’s running mate after their first outing.
Wembanyama finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and a block in extending his career-best streak of seven straight 20-point double-doubles.
“He is different,” Fox said. “He is special. Just the type of defensive attention he receives allows you to do things you don’t normally do.”
He added: “When I came in everybody told me to be myself and not to come in and try to fit in,.
“That’s why I think this group can be special.”
“So, I sort of had an idea of what it would look like,” Paul said of Fox’s debut. “But I mean the pace he plays with, the space that we have out there on the court.
“He’s played with some really good centers, but I don’t think anybody like Vic that can open the floor up.
“We ain’t even had a practice with him, other than shootaround. So, we want to learn and figure it out as we go.”
