The Spurs Played 'Villains' in Portland. Now They're Ready for Duel with Timberwolves

SAN ANTONIO — De'Aaron Fox has played five road playoff games in his career. He's won three of them, lost two. It was his first win that taught him a valuable lesson.

“We were on the brink of elimination," Fox recalled, sitting under the stands at Moda Center after a Game 4 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, "and we came in and won by 25."

At the time, Fox was still the No. 1 option on the Sacramento Kings next to Domantas Sabonis — the two rolled as "The Fox and The Ox" — hoping to close out the Golden State Warriors as the No. 2 seed in the West. The (in reality) 19-point win clinched a Game 7 and gave Fox a chance to experience his first bit of postseason glory.

Instead, the Kings were blown out by 20 points. Fox shot 26 percent from the field and spent the drive home figuring out where Sacramento had gone wrong.

He doesn't want his San Antonio Spurs to follow that same path.

"We know we belong here," Fox said of his current-day San Antonio squad. "As a young player, you're going to go through those spells where you turn the ball over a couple times or where you have some bad fouls. But for us, it's just continu(ing) to play the way you play.”

Apr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) and guard De'Aaron Fox (4) celebrate during a break in the game during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 4 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Entering the postseason, San Antonio learned to deal with nerves. Earning the No. 2 seed meant waiting several days to learn its first round matchup, and handling the Trail Blazers in five games resulted in the same fate. The Denver Nuggets took the Minnesota Timberwolves to six games before the latter emerged victorious.

In Portland, the waiting game allowed more time for the Spurs to get into character. Two double-digit comebacks on the road would have made them "villains" regardless, but they took their opportunity to embrace the role — Fox, especially.

“I love road games," Fox explained. "I’ve always been that way ... you feel the electricity in the building, especially in a playoff game. Then you slowly start seeing the lead dwindle. The crowd goes away, shots start getting a little bit tighter. We felt that."

The origin of the term "villain" came from Devin Vassell, who claimed to enjoy silencing a hostile arena, if for no other reason than it was deserved. Portland escaped San Antonio with one victory, and the Spurs wanted to ensure they'd return the favor.

"They came into our house in Game 2 and that game slipped away," Vassell said. "For us to come into their house, in their first playoff game here, to steal it back, that was great."

Added Wembanyama: "It has meaning. Any road team is the villain in the playoffs."

Perhaps Fox knew better than anyone what the result of a close series can be. Having been younger himself, the nerves attached to facing off against Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr were inevitable. But he remembers a time when the trio wasn't so feared.

The Spurs, boasting one playoff series victory and a one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, don't have much past success to lean on. Still, their ability to command a series became apparent rather quickly in Round 1. They plan to bring that to Round 2.

“We're in this position because of what we did throughout the course of the season,” Fox said before explaining how the Spurs spent their week off. "We set (new) goals, talked about them and we had a few days to prepare for them ... I think we're prepared."

Apr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a 3-point basket by guard De'Aaron Fox (4) during the first half of Game 4 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

How a seven-game series against the Timberwolves will play out remains to be seen. The Spurs, hoping to take advantage of a hobbled Anthony Edwards, plan to play hero in front of their home crowd, once again decked out in Fiesta stripes for Game 1.

When the time comes to hit the road, they'll get back into character, hoping to out-do Jaden McDaniels' eccentric confidence as one of the league's best personalities. Even if they fall behind, they'll trust themselves to make up ground in Minnesota.

"They’ve shown tremendous gall in the response of where we’ve been ... in the second half," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "We’ve got to shrink that margin ... and raise our floor.”

Driving home from Golden 1 Center in 2023, Fox experienced what it felt like to be in the path of NBA villains. At the time, he wasn't able to prevent them from advancing.

Now paired with a Frenchman instead of an Ox, the Fox likes his chances a whole lot better.

“The last thing I think that there is (for me to do) is to win a championship,” Fox said. “I think we have a good shot at it. We want to take this one day at a time, one game at a time.”

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