De'Aaron Fox has been one of the best guards in the NBA the past few years, and the San Antonio Spurs were thrilled to get him in a trade with the Sacramento Kings last February. But he only played 17 games a year ago, needing surgery in mid-March to repair a tendon in his finger

This year he dealt with a hamstring injury and missed the Spurs' first eight games. But he was great in game No. 9 on Saturday night, leading the Spurs with 24 points in a 126-119 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Here's the game story from Spurs Roundtable writer Scott Salomon

Fox Returns as Spurs Fire on All Cylinders in Defeat of Pelicans De'Aaron Fox returned to the San Antonio Spurs lineup and led them to a victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans. He scored 24 points and Victor Wembanyama added 18 points with 18 rebounds to pace the Spurs. Stephon Castle added 14 assists and finished the back-to-back with 27 assists.

Fox's return could not have come at a better time. Last year, he and 7-foot-5 Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama only played five games together before Wembanyama went down with a season-ending injury of his own.

The Spurs started the season 5-0, but then teams started double-teaming Wembanyama all over the floor, and it worked. The Spurs lost back-to-back games at Phoenix and to the Lqkers in Los Angeles.

Having Fox on the floor will negate that strategy. We've already seen that in one night. 

Fox is 27 years old now, and starting his ninth season in the NBA. He was the fifth overall picks of the Kings back in the 2016 NBA Draft. He's averaged 21.5 points per game throughout his career.