De’Aaron Fox poses in a Spurs uniform in his team publicity shot. Credit: Instagram / @spurs

Despite rumors to the contrary, recently acquired Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox says San Antonio was the only team he wanted to be traded to this season.

Indeed, before the Silver and Black landed the All Star-caliber guard for a song days before the NBA trade deadline, speculation swirled that he had a long list of desired destinations, including Houston, Utah and even Miami.

However, in an exclusive ESPN interview, Fox said the rumored list was a load of bullshit. For him, it truly was San Antonio or bust.

“There was no fucking list,” Fox told ESPN. “There was one team. I wanted to go to San Antonio. So, a lot of people are mad at me, saying I handcuffed the team by giving them a destination. Well, this is my career. If anybody else is in my position, you’d do the same thing. It’s not my job to help build your team. I’m not about to just go where they want me to go. I wanted to have a destination.”

Fox also said his motivation for requesting a trade out of Sacramento came down to the Kings’ sudden and unceremonious firing of head coach Mike Brown.

“I was like, ‘Yo, I’ve been here for going on my eighth year. If Mike gets fired, I’ll be going on my fifth coach,'” Fox said. “And I told them, ‘I’m not going to play for another coach. I’m going to play for another team.'”

Fox also said that he chose San Antonio because of the team’s athleticism and slew of young talent. The fact that generational star Victor Wembanyama was also on the team didn’t hurt, either.

ESPN’s bombshell report on Fox — which also may put to rest rumors that he was behind Brown’s firing — came just hours before the Spurs are set to take on Fox’s old team in Sacramento. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast on KENS5.

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This article appears in Mar 5-18, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...