De'Aaron Fox injury update: Spurs star hobbles to bench
This isn't a sight you wanted to see if you're a Spurs fan: De'Aaron Fox hobbled to the bench in clear pain during the third quarter of Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The San Antonio All-Star was back in the lineup after missing the first two games of the Western Conference finals as he dealt with right ankle soreness. But he got his right leg rolled on by Lu Dort as the two battled for a loose ball, and Fox was forced to his hands and knees.
He remained in the backcourt with his team on offense until a stoppage after the ball came back the other way, and then went directly to the bench with a considerable limp.
Lu Dort dives to the ball and slightly hits De'Aaron Fox, who is limping, and heads to the bench briefly after (with replays) pic.twitter.com/RywVrEHJDC
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 23, 2026
In some good news for the Spurs, Fox did find his way back to the court during the fourth quarter.
Before Game 2, which Fox missed, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had referred to his early "questionable" designation as being "Pretty (much) status quo moving forward, I believe."
"Regardless of if he plays the games or not, this will be just kind of the world we live in," Johnson had said.
Lu Dort dives for the ball and took out De’Aaron Fox…
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) May 23, 2026
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/0wCkCtjNyJ
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: De'Aaron Fox injury update, status for Thunder vs Spurs Game 3
Chet Holmgren Named to NBA All-Defensive First Team
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren was considered a top-two defender in the NBA. He only trailed San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year, for the most total votes by 10, 200-190.
The pair of ‘cream of the crop’ shot blockers are going head-to-head in the Western Conference Finals as you read this. They have disliked each other since the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Riga, Latvia, when USA’s Holmgren won the gold medal over France’s Wembanyama. Holmgren won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award.
The lanky challenger at the rim is coming off an NBA All-Star appearance for the first time in his career. He’s on the chase for a second-straight NBA championship, becoming only the fourth Zag to win an NBA title last summer (Los Angeles Lakers’ Adam Morrison in 2009 and 2010, Miami Heat’s Ronny Turiaf in 2012, and San Antonio Spurs’ Austin Daye in 2014).
Through 69 starts for the Thunder, the 7-1 talent averaged 17.1 points on a shooting split of 55.7 percent from the field, 36.2 percent on three-pointers, and 79.2 percent at the charity stripe. His 8.9 rebounds per game rank tied for No. 11 in the NBA, while his 1.9 blocks per game are tied for No. 2. Most importantly, the world’s up-and-coming basketball star listed a defensive rating of 104.1.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
Celtics guard Derrick White earns All-Defensive first-team honors
Derrick White is officially a member of the All-Defensive first team for the first time in his career.
The Celtics guard, who made the second team in 2022-23 and 2023-24, joined Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson and Rudy Gobert on this year’s top squad.
He received 58 first-team votes and 30 second-team votes, edging out Toronto’s Scottie Barnes by 18 points to claim the final spot.
White, 31, led all guards in the NBA with 1.3 blocks per game, racking up the most in a season (98) since Dwyane Wade in 2008-09. The 6-foot-4-inch White also added 1.1 steals per night and stabilized a unit that allowed the fewest points per game (107.2) in the NBA.
With Jayson Tatum out for most of the season, and Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet all heading elsewhere, White embraced even more responsibility and handled the additional spotlight well.
Neemias Queta received one first-place vote and six second-place votes to finish 19th overall with 8 points. Jaylen Brown was right behind him with two first-place votes and three second-place votes for 7 points.
Talk Conference Finals Here
Hello Shakers, I’ve put this here to so people can discuss the Conference Finals games without having to hunt down which post people are chatting on.
So far it’s been a lot of fun. Two games, three overtimes. (And one less interesting game.)
Game one of OKC vs San Antonio also saw a comeback, and Victor Wembanyama at his most alien. It ended up being a thrilling double overtime victory for the Spurs, with a three point make from Wemby late that is annoyingly iconic.
We saw an amazing comeback from the Knicks, who looked rusty after their time off, but turned on the jets late and blew the knickers off the Cavs. That same game was also a 22 point fourth quarter collapse by the Cavaliers which felt painfully familiar. I don’t think anyone, including the Cavs, thought they’d win in overtime, and they didn’t.
Game two with OKC and San Antonio was literally a slugfest, with OKC doing an astonishing amount of pushing, grabbing and straight up hugging of Wemby. I’m not sure how any of that fits in with the NBA’s “freedom of movement” guidelines, but OKC seems to get away with a lot of stuff that would be a foul from most other teams. They really do feel like a modernized version of the Jerry Sloan Jazz, right down to being from a place most people prefer not to live. “Can’t call ‘em all.” teams are incredibly cynical and tedious, and as much as it would pain me, I’d like OKC to go away more than the Spurs.
Game three of Knicks and Cavs just looked like the Knicks were better, though it took an odd offensive explosion from Josh Hart to make it happen. The Knicks have enough good defenders to stifle Harden and Mitchell and dare someone, anyone, else on the Cavs to beat them. Also, no guard on the Cavs can do much of anything about Jalen Brunson. We’ll see what Saturday brings in The Land.
Tonight’s game is in San Antonio, and we’ll see what sort of shenanigans are allowed from OKC. Possibly not as much in the vital win for OKC in game 2.
Luka Dončić says he feels ‘very comfortable’ with Lakers
While Luka Dončić ended the season sidelined with a hamstring strain, the majority of his first full season as a Laker was a success.
Luka was an All-Star and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month twice. He called the team’s run in March when they went 15-2 as special and is a shoo-in to be named an All-NBA player after finishing fourth in MVP voting.
With the season over, Luka discussed his relationship with the franchise during his exit interview.
“I feel very comfortable,” Dončić said. “I like living here. I like playing for the Lakers. It’s one of the best organizations in the world. Just being a Laker, it means a lot to me. Like I said, I feel very good here.”
It’s not hard to love living in Los Angeles, but it‘s reassuring to hear that Luka is enjoying it.
As the franchise player, Luka’s happiness with the team is the most important thing the Lakers must maintain. So, it should be a relief to fans that all of Dončić’s words and actions indicate he is happy in LA.
Throughout his year and a half with the franchise, Luka has done things big and small to support his teammates and the community he plays in.
He took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience during training camp and bought an e-bike for every member of the Lakers organization for the holidays. When Jaxson Hayes was fined for an altercation with Kris Dunn, Luka was glad to pay the fine and support his teammate, having his back.
When tragedy struck LA last year with the wildfires, Luka donated $500,000.
Last summer, when he had the option to either stay under his contract or extend and commit to the Lakers, he chose the latter. And this year, he’s been in regular contact with new majority owner Mark Walter as the team continues to build around Luka.
Many aspects of the Lakers’ roster need to be adjusted to turn them from pretenders to contenders. But the great news is that they have their superstar in place, and he’s happy to call LA his home and the Lakers his team.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
Spurs guard Fox, Harper cleared to play in Game 3 but Thunder's Williams ruled out as series tied
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs guards De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper will play in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Friday, but the Oklahoma City Thunder's Jalen Williams was ruled out.
All three were listed as questionable but their status was updated 45 minutes before the scheduled start of Game 3 with the series tied.
Williams played in Game 1 after missing the previous six postseason contests with a hamstring injury. The 6-foot-6 wing exited Game 2 with tightness in his left hamstring.
Recurring hamstring injuries in both legs limited Williams to 33 games during the regular season.
Fox missed the first two games of the series after his right leg was rolled on by Minnesota guard Ayo Dosunmu in San Antonio's semifinal-clinching victory May 15. Fox finished that game but did not play Monday or Wednesday due to an injury Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said will likely linger as long as they are in the postseason.
Harper made his first two postseason starts in place of Fox but exited Game 2 shortly after landing awkwardly and grabbing his hamstring with 4:50 left in the third quarter. His injury was diagnosed as right adductor soreness.
“I can tell you there’s games that people are playing right now that wouldn’t be playing in the regular season, and, so, that’s what I mean by different,” Johnson said. “I think there are levels of competitiveness and urgency and as of right now we’re at the height of that. So, you just try to make sure you keep some of these guys from themselves and their own competitiveness and desire to be out there because, again, their well-being is still the priority.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama unanimous pick for NBA's All-Defensive team
NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous pick as Defensive Player of the Year this season, and the only unanimous All-Defensive team selection as well.
The San Antonio star — as expected, given how the DPOY voting went — appeared on all 100 first-team ballots and made first-team All-Defense for the second time in his three NBA seasons. The team was announced Friday night.
Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren, Detroit's Ausar Thompson, Minnesota's Rudy Gobert and Boston's Derrick White rounded out the first team. Gobert is now a nine-time All-Defensive team pick, while Holmgren, Thompson and White were all first-time selections to the first team.
The second team was Toronto's Scottie Barnes, Oklahoma City's Cason Wallace, Miami's Bam Adebayo, New York's OG Anunoby and Atlanta's Dyson Daniels.
Gobert and Daniels are the only players that have made the All-Defensive team in each of the last two seasons.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Knicks' OG Anunoby named to NBA All-Defensive Second Team
The NBA announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2025-26 season, and Knicks forward OG Anunoby made the cut.
Anunoby was named to the Second Team All-Defense after finishing ninth in total voting. His 67 total points (11 first-place votes, 45 second-place votes) beat out Atlanta's Dyson Daniels (50 points), while Scottie Barnes of the Raptors (130), Cason Wallace of the Thunder (94) and Bam Adebayo of the Heat (71) joined Anunoby on the second team.
The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama (200) -- who was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year -- the Thunder's Chet Holmgren (190), the Pistons' Ausar Thompson (166), Rudy Gobert of Minnesota (151) and Boston's Derrick White (146) were named to the first team.
This is the second time in Anunoby's career he's been named to an All-Defensive team. He was named to the second team in the 2022-23 season as a member of the Raptors.
Anunoby had his best defensive season as a Knick and arguably the best of his nine-year career.
He averaged 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks, but a lot of what Anunoby does not show up on the stat sheet. If you look at the advanced statistics, Anunoby is great. He had a 3.2 Defensive Win Share (DWS), which estimates the number of wins contributed due to defense, his highest since his 3.7 DWS during the 2021-22 season.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown had a strong opinion on Anunoby's lone All-Defensive nod back in April, while also makinga case for his forward to be named to the first team.
"It's bulls--t, and I can say that with a straight face 'cause he's a great defender and he does a lot of different things that people don't see on that end of the floor for us and for other teams he played for," Brown said. "But more importantly, his versatility is just off the charts and you can do a lot of things with your defense because of him. In my opinion, he deserves First Team All-Defense this year -- and hopefully the powers that be will see it that way, too."
Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren headline NBA All-Defensive Teams
Just an hour before they take the court for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren received another honor.
Both were named to the First Team NBA All-Defense.
Wembanyama was the only player to be unanimously named to the first team, which is not exactly a shock, he was the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. Holmgren was the runner-up for the award (and it's the same group of 100 media voters), and he had 93 First Team votes.
Here is how the NBA's All-Defensive Teams shook out.
NBA All-Defensive Team
First Team
Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
Ausar Thompson (Pistons)
Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
Derrick White (Celtics)
Second Team
Bam Adebayo (Heat)
OG Anunoby (Knicks)
Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
Cason Wallace (Thunder)
Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
A few thoughts on these teams.
• Two players just missed out on making the second team: Stephon Castle (Spurs) and Amen Thompson (Rockets). Castle and Thompson had the same number of total votes as Daniels (41), but the Hawks' wing had more first-team votes, so he finished with five more points in the NBA system.
• The next two players with at least 24 votes are Draymond Green (Warriors) and Toumani Camara (Trail Blazers)
• Adebayo didn't just make an All-Defensive Team, he was named the 2025-26 NBA Social Justice Champion and will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy.
• Don't be too shocked to see Boston's White on First Team, he was one of two players with 80+ steals and 80+ blocks (Scottie Barnes was the other), and the first Celtic to get to 75+ of each of those since Kevin Garnett in 2008 (the year he won DPOY).
• This is Gobert's eighth First Team All-Defense nod (he's won four Defensive Player of the Year awards)
Victor Wembanyama unanimously named to Kia All-Defensive First Team
The NBA has announced the Kia All-Defensive Teams for the 2025-26 season, and to no one’s surprise, that includes the youngest and first ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, on the First Team. This is the second time Wemby has earned the honor after making First Team his rookie season in 2o24. He likely would have made it last season had he met the 65-game threshold, but his season was cut short by deep vein thrombosis. He received all 1oo first place votes as the only unanimous player and is joined by Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert and former Spur Derrick White.
Wemby led the NBA in blocks with 197 (just over three per game) while totaling 66 steals in the regular season, and he finished second in the league in defensive rating (110.4) and defensive rebounds (9.5). He also became the unofficial inventor of the “nope”, i.e. when a player drives but decides to turnaround or not even attempt a shot that many would consider open or close to it due to his presence.
The second team includes Bam Adebayo, Cason Wallace, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Dyson Daniels (listed in order of votes received). Just missing by two points was Spurs guard Stephon Castle, who finished tied for 11th place win Amen Thompson with 48 points. Both received 5 first-team votes and 36 second-team votes. Castle is widely considered one of the top defense guards in the league with 112.6 defensive rating, 1.1 steals per game, and the Spurs allowed 4.7 fewer points with him on the floor per 100 possessions, which ranked among the top 10 guards in the league.
While it didn’t happen this year, Castle is bound to make it soon. If he and Wemby make it in the same season, they would be the first Spurs duo to accomplish the feat since the 2016-17 season, when Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green made First and Second Team, respectively. The last time they had two players make the First team in the same season was Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen in the 2007-08 season, so those are some goals for the two members of the Spurs’ young core to strive for.
It’s time for Playoff Basketball: San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Thunder, Game 3
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other fan sites.
After the incredible high of the first game, the griminess and grittiness of the second game was a big letdown. The Spurs were able to persevere in Game 1 despite giving the Thunder beaucoup turnovers, and it was just too much to ask them to overcome another 20+ turnover game on the road. Castle is an incredible second year player, but the defensive intensity of OKC is testing his ability to hold onto the ball and make crisp passes. If Castle has a weakness in his game, it’s that his handle is a little loose at times when he’s the primary ball handler, and Mark Daigneault knows that as he has his elite defenders go at him full speed for every minute he’s on the floor. Steph has been asked to play a lot of minutes in both games so far, due to the absence of De’Aaron Fox, who is once again listed as questionable tonight on the injury report. Dylan Harper is also listed as questionable, having gotten an adductor issue in Wednesday’s game. It looked like he might have hurt a hamstring when he left the court, so the adductor is relatively good news, as those tend to be less lingering than hammies. Speaking of hammies, Jalen Williams (JDub) re-aggravated his hamstring strain in Game 2, and although he’s listed as questionable on the injury report, I would be surprised to see him back tonight, or even on Sunday.
The Spurs are going to have to strategize a way to keep Hartenstein from mauling Wembanyama every time his gets close, and maybe Mitch needs to make sure that the refs see the fouling, although that didn’t make much difference in Game 2, where a referee was looking directly at IHart yanking on Steph Castle’s hair and didn’t even blow his whistle. Steph will need to find a way to tighten up his handle without limiting his agressiveness on offense, which is one the Spurs best assets other than that tall French dude. The betting line tonight has San Antonio favored to win, which I really don’t understand. The Thunder took back the momentum of the series on Game 2, and the Silver and Black will need to take it back tonight. Hopefully Fox will be back, but if he isn’t, next man up. Let’s go JorMac and LWIII. Role players are usually better and home, and maybe Julian will hit a ton of three point shots tonight. LETS GO SPURS!
Game Prediction:
Isaiah Hartenstein will be ejected when he pulls a pair of nunchucks out of his shorts during a scramble for a loose ball.
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Thunder, Conference Championship Round, Game 3
May 22, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: Peacock
TV: NBC
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
NBA Playoff Friday discussion
Game 3 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals is tonight. The Oklahoma City Thunder are at San Antonio Spurs. Watch at 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)
Enjoy!
The Case for trading Grayson Allen
The Phoenix Suns have numerous decisions ahead of them this upcoming offseason, including multiple restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents, and players with trade value. The following series will examine those decisions as our writing team presents both a point and a counterpoint for each.
It’s a tough decision for the Suns to consider: trading Grayson Allen. He has truly proved to be a winning player throughout his tenure in the Valley. He came to the Suns as part of the deal that sent Deandre Ayton to Portland and Damian Lillard to Milwaukee. Even if he was not the biggest name involved, you could argue that his impact has been greater than what the Suns sent out.
Allen arrived in Phoenix and immediately put on a show in year one, shooting a career best 46.1% from three-point land. This allowed him to secure the 4-year, $70 million contract he is currently on and win the fans’ hearts here. That being said, he has played fewer games each year he has been here and has a sizable contract to trade.
Even though I value Allen for what he brings to the team and have learned a lot this year with his offensive game, now may be the time to move on from him. Though he only suited up in 51 games this year, he was still valuable to this team. He had a career night, erupting for 42 points and breaking a Suns franchise record with 10 threes in a game. He can still shoot the hell out of the rock, make scrappy plays on the defensive end, and even create a lot driving to the basket.
That is why it would make sense for the Suns to keep him and continue running with the veteran. However, there are signs the Suns are finally moving on from him.
To start, his contract is a very tradable asset. Coming in at a bit above $18 million this year is nice, as it could fit into multiple teams’ books without handicapping too much. With him still a solid scorer on offense and a quality bench player for a contender, it could be worth the swing for some teams. This could come in handy for the Suns, as they are dealing with some key free agents—one of them being Collin Gillespie, who has potentially taken that offensive bench crown from Allen.
You also have Koby Brea, the two-way sniper, whom the Suns took in the draft last year from Kentucky. I personally thought his shot would be bigger this year, but going into the next one, he is also competing with Gillespie and Allen for the offensive three-point bench player role. This could lead the Suns to realize that the youth movement they preached should begin.
This could also help the Suns shed money, making it easier on their books. As we know, the team is paying $20+ million in dead cap each season as they stretched and waived Nassir Little and Bradley Beal over two offseasons. This already limits how much they can spend, so saving money is always key for future offseasons.
With Allen gone, you then have to wonder what the Suns could get in return for him. Well, there are a bunch of options; it just depends on what the team would rather have: a player who can fit a role they are missing or some draft capital. Since the Suns traded their future picks away to acquire additional capital, whether it be a first-round pick or multiple seconds, could help the team in multiple ways.
The team could also consider using the contract to secure a piece that would help the team. As we know, the clamoring has continued for a power forward to come to Phoenix, where fans have clung to every name mentioned to fill that role. Well, with Allen not only being a solid contract and player, but also someone the team could net in return.
Names like Obi Toppin, PJ Washington, and Santi Aldama could all be obtained while using Allen’s contract. Those could be guys who, yes, are not screaming star players, but could fill a role better fit for the team’s direction, adding some size to the front court. All while freeing up space for the young guards and wings to continue to grow. Personally, I’d explore the option of bringing in a power forward for Allen.
There is a reality where this exercise does not matter. The Suns could say that we value GA more than anyone else and want to keep him. He is part of the core and has been a great piece, so let’s not disrupt this. Mat Ishbia preached continuity at the end-of-season press conference to make sense. The front office should consider this as his deal nears its end; it could be the best the Suns get for him after such a great year.
Dillon Brooks, Underdog market 'Unethical Hoops' based on children's board game
Game night for hoop heads just got a lot more entertaining.
Underdog and Phoenix Suns guard Dillon Brooks collaborated to unveil a new board game called "Unethical Hoops".
It's essentially a basketball-themed version of Operation, a children's and family board game produced by Hasbro and Milton Bradley where players act as "doctors and surgeons" using tweezers to carefully remove ailments and add correct organs to the patient on the board without triggering the buzzer.
However, Brooks' version with Underdog, Unethical Hoops, takes aim at Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The name of the game is to steal basketballs from the back-to-back MVP, using tweezers, but the catch is you can't make contact with him, if you do, you're whistled for a foul and it's the next player's turn.
Similar to guarding Gilgeous-Alexander, or the modern NBA player, the board game features a bunch of foul-baiting tactics to look out for when defending the offensive player. Board game tactics favoring the ballhandler includes the head snap, shoulder bump, push off, lean in, hook and cook, rip through, don't reach, phantom contact and leg kick.
"Head snap. A lot of people do that. Hook, was James Harden's move. Push off, try this. You know I don't foul," Brooks said as he demonstrated how to play the game in a video released by Underdog.
Brooks on the next steal attempt, set off the official and was called for a foul.
"Foul. Next player's turn," Brooks said. "Get yours ... play your game with your friends and family, and get reacquainted with the new foul-baiting from The Villain".
How to get Underdog's Unethical Hoops board game
This satirical board game is available at www.unethicalhoops.com.
As part of Underdog's promotion, there were 100 board games made, according to their website. To have a chance to win, you must download the Underdog app, which will direct users how to apply for the game. Winners will be announced May 29.
"Shai has made hoops all about foul baiting and now you're stuck guarding him in Underdog's new board game," their website said. "Don't get baited. Steal the ball without getting whistled."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Underdog. Dillon Brooks unveil Unethical Hoops, in a shot at SGA