San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, who made his season debut Saturday night, said there was a little rust to shake off, but it did not affect him past the first quarter. He settled down in the second quarter and started a great run to help the Spurs to their seventh victory in nine games.
De'Aaron Fox scored 24 points Saturday night on 9-of-14 shooting. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
He said he felt a little rusty.
If that was rusty, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson would like to see him that rusty every night.
"There was rust. I played 5-on-5 before I got out here, but there was definitely rust," Fox said after the game. "Haven't played a game since March and haven't played full court all summer. Just wanted to come out and help my team."
Fox said he felt comfortable because playing basketball is like riding a bike. Once you learn to play at the level he is used to playing at, everything becomes second nature.
"I am good at basketball," Fox said to the assembled media. "You can still have rust and still do what I did. I think a lot of it is just me being able to go out there and have this chemistry. I'm just trying to go out there and find a rhythm with the guys and I did not break their rhythm. We are playing well being 6-2 through eight games. We've played well."
Fox said he waited for the right time to come back from his hamstring strain because he did not want to reinjure himself coming back prematurely. He trusted the medical staff to make the right decisions and guide him on his course to recovery.
"It wasn't tough for me because when I got hurt they said it could be this long or this long. I didn't cry, but I broke down," Fox said. "I just got here and had surgery on my hand and then this happens. For me, I could either sit here and pout and not go to work or soak it in for a little bit and go to work. I didn't miss a day.
"For me, it was just trying to get healthy and get back out there. I wanted to make sure my body was right."
He said the staff had his best interests at heart. He knows he is a valuable asset and the staff wanted to protect the asset for the long haul.
"I trusted the staff. They talked to specialists and they are the professionals," Fox said. "They have the best interests for me and they want to protect the asset and the asset is now ready. As a competitor I want to be out there, but for me it was just trusting the process."
Fox said he shook off the rust by the second quarter. He went scoreless in the first quarter and was questioning himself as to when his game would come around. He was then on fire for the rest of the game. He paired with either Victor Wembanyama or Stephon Castle to motor the offense.
"The second quarter, I kind of got my second wind and the shots started falling," Fox said. "In the fourth quarter, I told Vic that I am here to help you close games. That is what they brought me here for."
Fox said he is working on his chemistry with Wembanyama. It will only get better. They created space for one another in the fourth quarter to lock the game down.
"It is a work in progress. We help each other and compliment each other," Fox said. "We just use the space we have and if we play like we do, I have confidence in us.
"Vic is one of those guys like Steph Curry. There are not a lot of people like that, who have gravity without the ball. He has a lot of gravity without the ball and can create their own shot," Fox said. "We are going to be really good when we create shots for each other. We have a lot of guys who are good 1-on-1, but are also unselfish. It makes the game easier."