Facing Former Coach, Spurs' De'Aaron Fox Wants to 'Taste Success' Again in NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO — De'Aaron Fox could do without the new-age pleasantries.

Walking through back-of-house at Frost Bank Center Tuesday morning, eyeing the second-largest crowd of reporters he'd seen in his nine-year NBA career — the largest came in February, when hundreds of reporters and content creators swarmed Intuit Dome for All-Star Weekend — the 27-year-old point guard made one grave error:

He walked past his rookie teammate, who he thought was busy entertaining some of the media-types with stories of his Filipino heritage and his father, a five-time league champion.

Dylan Harper was occupied. He'd just begun his NBA Finals press conference, but he wasn't going to let an opportunity to poke fun at Fox's "old" age slip him by.

"Hey, Unc!" Harper shouted past the curtains, a cheeky smile lighting his face.

"Bro," Fox replied, half-joking. "Shut up."

Jun 2, 2026; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) listens to a question during Media Day for the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Fox had heard the joke before. Harper, who says he grew up knowing him by his highlights, would never stop making it. Even his compliments aged him.

"I feel like growing up, in my era at least," Harper began, "Fox was kind of a big name."

Even now, in an age when the pair of San Antonio Spurs guards, along with Stephon Castle, have spearheaded a push to the postseason, Fox remains a household name across the basketball-verse. Averaging 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists on 49 percent shooting from the field in the regular season justified that recognition.

There was a time when Fox remembers that not being the case. Back before he forced his way from Sacramento to South Texas to play sidekick to Victor Wembanyama.

There are memories while playing for the Sacramento Kings that Fox remembers fondly. Others not so much. Falling in the former category is the coach of his latest opponent.

Both he and Mike Brown divulged a little bit on Tuesday.

"(He's) a great human being, first of all," Brown said of Fox. "I enjoyed my time being around him as a human, first. Just talented. Sky's the limit for him ... he's a game-changer."

Jan 3, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown talks with guard De'Aaron Fox (5) during the third quarter against the Orlando Magic at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Brown and Fox spent two full seasons together with the Sacramento Kings before both departed the franchise under radically different circumstances.

Fox recalled the openness Brown afforded him and his teammates — from the locker room to the front office and even the medical staff in-between.

"Whenever you have that," Fox said, "there are no secrets ... that's what makes a team good."

Brown, who won the NBA's Coach of the Year Award in 2023 and took the Kings to their first playoff berth since 2006, was fired on the tarmac ahead of a road game in Los Angeles. Fox, meanwhile, decided to chase "greener grass."

As colorful as it was in Sacramento during the Kings' beam season, it dried out after that season. It's still the part that stings Fox most reflecting on his West Coast stint.

"You have a good year and then you expect it to get better," Fox explained, "and then it doesn't ... when you hear guys who won the Finals ... they talk about loving getting to that point. It's a hard thing to do once, and it's definitely a hard thing to do multiple times."

He continued, keeping with an unabashed tone: "Once you taste that success a little bit, I think the hardest part was not being able to get back there."

It took switching scenery for Fox to regain the same rush he once felt in Sacramento, but with higher stakes on the line given the surprising run these Spurs have made in their first full season together, the point guard often reminds his younger teammates to live presently.

"My big message for guys is, especially as we were going through this process," Fox began, "as we were playing in the first round and (onward) ... was to, obviously, enjoy the moment."

Brown is living by the same code, now nearly 3,000 miles away from Sacramento.

"Getting to the Finals is not easy," the coach said. "If you can navigate through some of those adverse ... times throughout the season, you'll give yourself a chance when it really matters."

May 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Knicks coach Mike Brown reacts in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. | David Richard-Imagn Images

Fox, like Brown to the New York Knicks, has trusted the habits that carried him from training camp to June. A 60-win season and a berth in the NBA Finals, in his eyes, weren't accidents, but rather, the result of months spent building toward a common goal.

He's reminded his teammates of that, too.

"There's a reason that we're in The Finals," Fox said. "There's a reason that we won 60 games. There's a reason we didn't lose three games in a row the whole year."

If you asked the Spurs to name reasons for their success, they'd point to the same habits. But, as several of them proved ahead of Game 1 of The Finals, they'd also point to Fox. Especially the other two guards that make up San Antonio's three-headed monster.

"He's done a great job of mentoring me," Harper said, dropping the "nephew" act. "What he brings to the table, every team would love to have. I'm just lucky to play with him."

Added Mitch Johnson, citing the working partnership between Fox, Castle and Harper: "(Fox) is the most unsung reason why this has all worked."

Fox doesn't pretend to have all the answers. Experience comes in different forms, and while the point guard has two All-Star nods to his name to go along with a Clutch Player of the Year Award — won during that beam season in Sacramento — he's yet to win a title.

"I've been All-NBA. I've been an All-Star," Fox said. "The last thing I think that there is, is to win a championship. And I think we have a good shot at it."

Facing Brown, Fox plans to once again sniff success. And when all is said and done, the pair will have time to relive the good times of their former partnership. But not now.

Fox is busy hoping an NBA championship tastes as good as it smells.

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