Inside The Spurs

De'Aaron Fox's Final Injury Status for Lakers vs. Spurs

De'Aaron Fox's final status for the Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs game

Matt Guzman

Mar 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Target Center.
Mar 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Target Center. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
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De'Aaron Fox had one burning question in mind while deciding whether to undergo a season-ending surgery to repair ligament damage in his left pinkie.

"What's the recovery time?"

Fox, up until last Thursday, had been playing with his two leftmost fingers taped together. Without it, he wasn't able to field passes cleanly, but tape was also just a temporary solution.

"At some point, we're going to have to sit down and get it fixed," he admitted. "I’m not playing with tape on my dominant hand for the rest of my career.”

After further discussion, Fox and the San Antonio Spurs decided he would undergo the procedure on Tuesday in Los Angeles following their contest against the Los Angeles Lakers; the decision ends his season but also allows him a full offseason of work.

"You want to be able to get a full offseason in with the guys," Fox said. "That was really a big part ... we want to be able to grow together in the offseason.”

Fox will miss his third straight contest on Monday since deciding to undergo surgery. He's listed as out on the Spurs' availability report along with Victor Wembanyama, Charles Bassey, Malaki Branham, Riley Minix, Harrison Ingram, and David Duke Jr.

The Lakers, meanwhile, will be without LeBron James as he continues to recover from a groin strain. Luka Dončić is expected to play.

San Antonio currently sits tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference at 28-38. And while Los Angeles has gone 1-3 since James' injury, it picked up a win over the Phoenix Suns to climb just one game behind the three-way tie for the West's No. 2 seed.

Tipoff from Crypto.com Arena is set for 10:30 p.m. EST.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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