Nuggets' Cameron Johnson Defends De'Aaron Fox After Game 4 Blunder

The Nuggets' forward gave his take on De'Aaron Fox's widely discussed Finals moment.

Mar 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson (23) warms up before the game against the New York Knicks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

After a wild Wednesday night of the NBA Finals, the talk of the basketball world is all about how the New York Knicks were able to rally from a historic 29-point deficit against the San Antonio Spursin Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead at Madison Square Garden that now leaves them one win away from ending their 53-year championship drought.

It was in that resilient, one-of-one comeback where several memorable moments transpired; one of which the Spurs would likely love to forget that came from De'Aaron Fox's blocked layup from OG Anunoby as they were up by one point with less than 15 seconds left in the game.

"I just thought I'd be able to outrun [OG Anunoby]."

De'Aaron Fox explains his late game shot that was blocked by OG Anunoby.

(via @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/HbWQvzPZ5M

— ESPN (@espn) June 11, 2026

It's one of several pieces of this historic Finals game that many discussed following the outcome of the Knicks' 107-106 win over San Antonio. And one name who's gotten involved in the conversation with a little bit of differing opinion from the masses is Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson. 

Cam Johnson Plays Devil's Advocate on Fox's Game 4 Moment

During the newest episode of Johnson's podcast, The Old Man and the Three, the Nuggets veteran would give an interesting take on how he felt about what many have deemed one of the most defining plays of the Spurs' collapse of that Game 4 Finals matchup in Fox's blocked layup.

Rather than beating a dead horse in saying that Fox made a boneheaded play in taking the attempt at the rim rather than trying to get fouled or calling a timeout, Johnson made the counter-argument emphasizing the split-second decision-making that Fox had to go through before taking the shot.

"Everything is always very, very clear in hindsight," Johnson said. "Who has ever caught Fox in a foot race in his life? He probably has never been chased down in the foot race, like, he's De'Aaron Fox."

"Against the ball, they're up by one. Here's a chance to, in his mind, easily go up three with a layup, if that's not blocked. I understand the criticism he's getting, and people are really ripping at him. But he made his split-second decision... And layups are generally easier than free throws, in general: one layup, two free throws, game on the line. So his thought process is happening under half a second. It's not like he could sit there and think."

Jun 10, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) blocks San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) in the fourth quarter during game four of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Johnson isn't going as far as to say that Fox's choice in taking an attempt at the rim was the right one. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone out there who, if able to get a do-over, would do the same that Fox did in the moment.

But rough mistakes are prone to happen in high-stakes games like this one. Just look at how the Spurs closed out Game 2 of the Finals when Victor Wembanyama had a pivotal late game turnover by bouncing a ball off of Stephon Castle's back when he wasn't looking.

This play, which might have been equally impactful to the Spurs' end result, is bound to get even more criticism because of the implications that were added on in San Antonio giving up a 29-point lead over the course of the second half.

But for Johnson, who's been in high-pressure Finals games himself dating back to 2021 while on the Phoenix Suns, tends to empathize with Fox a little bit more than the average fan.

"And everybody's gonna rip on him, saying, 'Well, you should know better.'...Sure, he should. Yes, it's easy to say," Johnson continued. "But the counterpoint I want to give is: he makes this decision, and that's just what he went with."

"OG made a phenomenal play to track him down and block the shot. But it just kind of highlighted how the game unfolded for the Spurs. Everything they did, airing on the side of being aggressive or airing on the side of being cautious, like every decision kind of ended up being wrong for them in that second half."

"Who has ever caught Fox in a foot race, in his life? He has probably never been chased down in a foot race." -- Cam talks about De'Aaron Fox's decision to go for a layup pic.twitter.com/KZt7GUnguu

— TheOldManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) June 11, 2026

It's certainly a play that will go down in the history books as one of the craziest sequences, and perhaps biggest mistakes, in what was one of the best Finals games seen in some time.

Although in Johnson's mind, he's not going to be one adding onto the bludgeoning of Fox for the late-game decision like many have already done so far.

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