Spurs embrace youth, opportunity in NBA Finals

De'Aaron Fox is surrounded by younger teammates and is accustomed to "unc" treatment from his junior peers at the ripe age of 28.

Fox, acquired in 2025 from the Sacramento Kings, has helped Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and ‌the collective future of the roster blend with the tradition and winning-rich history of the five-time champion Spurs.

"You feel it when you walk through the building, the expectation," Fox said Tuesday at NBA Finals media day. "You handle it with a level of respect. You handle it with a level of responsibility. It's not always to ⁠win. You're not going to always win. But go through that process. I think that's why we've been able to do it with -- we have four guys that are under 22 and about seven guys under 26. And we're in a position to play for the championship."

Fox said the attention to detail and calm exhibited by the entire roster in big games this postseason is the biggest sign of maturation into a championship team. He noted there was no pressing or attempts to take over clinching or elimination ‌games ⁠last week. Even Wembanyama, who is averaging 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his first postseason, focused on "joy" and not the spotlight.

Wembanyama shrugged off his statistical trophies in these playoffs on Tuesday, pointing to the challenge of facing forward as Game 1 against the visiting New York ⁠Knicks approaches Wednesday.

"We haven't done the hardest part. The job isn't done at all. We've still go 30-plus hours to reset," Wembanyama said.

Devin Vassell said Fox and others only briefly allowed themselves to ⁠bask in the glow of the monumental Game 7 victory on Saturday at Oklahoma City.

"One of the main reasons we're here is we're so locked in," Vassell said, dismissing ⁠the motivation of proving people wrong at this stage. "We've heard it all year. We're here now. There's really nothing else for us to say, or talk about, and we're not trying to overthink it. We're here for a reason."

--Field Level Media

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