De'Aaron Fox Jokes That First Quarter With Young Spurs Nucleus Made Him Feel Old

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De'Aaron Fox found the fountain of youth as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. After the blockbuster trade which saw the star guard dealt from the Sacramento Kings, Fox made his debut as a Spur Wednesday night.
He was interviewed by ESPN after playing eight minutes in his first quarter with the team. As he wiped off the sweat, Fox joked that San Antonio's young core, which includes the second-year phenom Victor Wembanyama, aged him at the ripe age of 27.
"Playing with all these young guys, one, they make me feel old," Fox said on the ESPN broadcast. "But then we come out here and they're all dunking, then I feel like I'm young again. I think we had a great first quarter, it's going well."
"Playing with all these young guys, they make me feel old... but then they're all dunking and I feel young again."
— NBA (@NBA) February 6, 2025
De'Aaron Fox after his 1st quarter with the @spurs 😆 pic.twitter.com/bUtLCA5kPm
Fox scored 24 points and had 13 assists along with five rebounds and three steals in his San Antonio debut Wednesday. He's the first player in franchise history to have a 20-point, 10-assist game in his debut. His new co-star, Wembanyama, had 24 points of his own along with 12 boards.
Wembanyama also had the game-winning free throw with three seconds left. He intentionally missed the second to throw off the Atlanta Hawks who didn't have any timeouts. The Spurs won 126–125 with their new star point guard.
Victor Wembanyama purposely misses his second free throw to throw the time-out less Hawks off guard as the Spurs edged Atlanta 126-125. The Spurs showcased a stifling defensive effort with a league-leading 16 steals, including Julian Champagnie's career-high 5 steals. De'Aaron… pic.twitter.com/qEy0jKZT0W
— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) February 6, 2025
It was a special debut for Fox, who fit right in with his new team on Wednesday night.
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Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.