Just two quarters into the NBA Finals Game 5, San Antonio Spurs fans had already seen enough from De’Aaron Fox.
The Spurs saw their championship hopes crushed by the new York Knicks’ 94-90 victory in Game 5 in San Antonio.
And many Spurs fans made it clear they didn’t think the guard was up to scratch on Saturday night.
Fox had made headlines for all the wrong reasons in Game 4, allowing the Knicks to sneak back into the game in the dying seconds of the matchup, and things didn’t improve for him on Saturday night.
Back in San Antonio, he managed just five points on 2-for-8 shooting through the first two quarters.
On top of that, he was also called for a costly flagrant 1 foul late in the second quarter against the Knicks’ Josh Hart.
Furious San Antonio Spurs fans called for De’aaron Fox to be benched during Game 5
The Spurs headed into Game 5 desperately needing a win over the New York Knicks
It was enough to have Spurs fans rioting as they demanded he be benched for the remainder of the crucial game.
Even analyst Charles Barkley piled on the calls as he ripped into Fox during the ‘Inside the NBA’ halftime show on ABC.
‘[Spurs coach Mitch Johnson] gotta go with [Stephon] Castle and [Dylan] Harper. He’s got to take Fox out of the game,’ Barkley said. ‘I hate saying that because I am a big De’Aaron Fox fan. But if you are coach Johnson, you can’t be worried about people’s feelings out here.’
As for the flagrant foul in the second quarter, Barkley said: ‘This to me, nah man, this can’t happen,’
Many fans and analysts were in agreement, with ESPN’s Louis Riddick posting on X: ‘Take Fox out. It isn’t that difficult.’
‘De’Aaron Fox doing his best to blow another Spurs lead,’ another NBA fan account shared.
Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy added: ‘The fact the Spurs keep playing Fox over Harper is bananland It’s like the Chicago Blacksox scandal.’
‘Every single f***ing time we put Fox in the game we lose the lead,’ one particularly furious Spurs fan fumed.
Analyst Charles Barkley piled on the calls as he ripped into Fox during halftime
‘It is so f***ing obviously, why they fuck can’t the spurs see it? He has lost us every f***ing game so far. Absolutely pathetic the Knicks better win in 5 because I’m over this s***, fire the HC.’
Barkley had also claimed that the biggest culprit in the Spurs’ Game 4 collapse was point guard Fox, who could have helped San Antonio even the series at 2-2 by holding the ball in the waning seconds of play.
Instead, Fox went in for a contested layup with a one-point lead, only to get blocked by New York’s OG Anunoby, who would later score the game-winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Knicks a 3-1 series edge.
‘That was a dumbass play,’ Barkley said of Fox’s decision to drive to the hole. ‘He did not have to shoot that ball. He could have just got fouled, there was no reason for him to shoot that ball.’
The Knicks were in the bonus at the time and without the ability to stop the clock, would have had no other choice but to foul Fox with less than 10 seconds to play.
Fox, a 28-year-old All-Star who shot 76 percent from the line in 2025-26, could have then given the Spurs a three-point lead by making a pair of free throws, thereby leaving the Knicks to attempt a last-second 3-pointer to potentially force overtime.
