SAN ANTONIO — You have to watch De’Aaron Fox in slow motion to fully appreciate his greatness, and the same is true for the 3-point renaissance powering his strong start to the year.
Speed defines Fox’s game as his most terrifying attribute, rightly so as it’s the thing that he does better than most if not all of the elite athletes in the NBA. In his first full season with the San Antonio Spurs, the fastest gun in the West has turned his game inside out, using that quickness to fire from long range with a new level of accuracy and versatility.
“It opens up the floodgates,” Fox said. “Teams take one step closer, it allows me to get downhill, create for myself, create for somebody else, just collapse the defense. Or when I’m off ball once I start making shots, then my defender is one step closer to me, and it allows guys to have driving lanes. For me, obviously that’s why I want to continue to become a better shooter, because with or without the ball, I feel like you affect the game that way.”
Fox on his jumper:
“It opens up the floodgates. Teams take one step closer, allows me to get downhill, create for myself, create for somebody else… off ball once I start making shots, then my defender is one step closer to me, and it allows guys to have driving lanes.” pic.twitter.com/gWWcKodT7A
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) November 19, 2025
The rim-pressure savant is shooting 38 percent from 3 this season, which would be the best mark of his career. He’s attempting over 6 3s per game which is near a career high, and he’s creating more of those shots himself than he ever has before. Only a third of his 3s last year were unassisted, and this year it’s over half for the first time in his often ball-dominant career. Two-thirds of his 3-point attempts this year are off the dribble.
One of the most impressive things about Fox’s game this year is that he’s finding high-efficiency looks without forcing anything. About 92 percent of his 3-point attempts this season have come with no defender within four feet of him, according to the NBA’s shot tracking data. Only 5.3 percent of his points are coming from mid-range shots, the lowest in his career.
Speed permeates Fox’s shooting in so many ways, and he has the green light to go as fast as he can. He’s using that quick trigger to attack any clean catch-and-shoot look he gets when his teammates draw doubles, or when the team defense shows even a momentary lapse.
Early in games and early in the shot clock, he’s letting it rip and establishing that he can and will pull up at any time. It’s especially evident in transition as the threat of his drive forces defenders to take a step back and give a cushion. When he decides to shoot it, he draws and fires well before the defender can recover from the space he had to give.
He’s got the LeFoxYou three 😭 pic.twitter.com/BJyXPZtPHi
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) November 24, 2025
Defenses know that Fox is most dangerous driving toward his dominant left hand, and he’s developed a devastating counter with his step back to the right. Sometimes he goes stationary to size up his man and snatches it back when he sees the space.
Fox 6-7 in the third quarter, needed that pic.twitter.com/aKsm1BD9v7
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) November 19, 2025
On multiple occasions this year, Fox has blown by his guy with his swift first step, leaving that guy with no choice but to overreact and launch himself toward the paint. When Fox sees this he plants his left foot and steps back to the arc with no defender in the same area code.
The threat of Fox’s speed is so apparent herepic.twitter.com/LwO8pNOFq6
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) November 9, 2025
Fox’s ability to apply northbound and southbound pressure simultaneously gets even spicier with a pick (or two) involved in the play. So many defenders have gone under screens this year in an attempt to beat Fox to the other side, only to find themselves alone with an obstructed view of the point guard swishing a 3.
Defense at the NBA level is about triage. Even the best defenders in the world have to make decisions about what kind of shots they are willing to give up, and even the best team defenses are going to give up something. Fox’s shooting ability opens up new opportunities, and his basketball brain lets him pick the best play in each scenario, and his superstar confidence lets him shoot those shots with zero conscience.
Jimmy Butler didn’t have a chance. Wemby set a screen for Fox as he crossed half-court and dribbled to his left. Butler waited at the 3-point arc, and the moment Moses Moody switched off of him Fox let it fly. Butler wasn’t that far away, but Fox had the ball at his forehead before Butler had time to get a hand up. It’s like in a samurai movie when the good guy unsheathes his katana and puts it back immediately, and you’re not really sure what happened until the bad guy’s still-smiling head slides off of his torso.
Another play against the Kings exemplified the willingness and speed with which Fox now attacks any sort of opportunity for 3. He had the ball on the empty left wing as Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet both came by to set a screen right. Champagnie’s defender went out to Fox right as Fox’s defender took a step back to switch on Champagnie and cover the naked sideline.
In that split second Fox was in the middle of a hang dribble with his right hand, and the instant his defender sagged off he fired the shot. It didn’t fall, but Fox’s willingness and ability to take these kinds of shots and hit them at a good clip makes everything easier for him and for his teammates.
Now that Fox has established himself as a long-range threat, defenders are playing him differently. Some are even going over on screens, but in doing so they put themselves behind one of the fastest players in the league and leave the rest of their defense in scramble mode.
From there Fox, can use that advantage to find a teammate on a lob, or on the wing, or he can take it in himself for a layup. He’s shooting 78 percent when he gets within 8 feet of the basket this season, and an insane 25-for-29 at the rim according to the NBA’s shot tracking statistics.
Remember before when Fox sliced Jimmy Butler in half? Jimmy Butler sure did. Later in the same game with three minutes to go and the Spurs up one, Butler jumped over a screen by Wemby and even loaded up to block a potential shot attempt. Al Horford hedged hard, worried about both the shot and the drive left. Both of the defenders ventured outside the three-point arc, so focused on Fox and his shot that they completely lost track of the 7-foot-4 guy in the middle of the paint.
It goes without saying, but the more attention Fox can attract 25 feet from the basket the more space Wembanyama will have to operate down low.
On one early transition play against the Hawks right after a Fox three, Devin Vassell scooped it to him on the left wing. Atlanta’s defense wasn’t set, and Vit Krejčí was with Keldon Johnson before Fox caught the ball already in his shooting motion. Krejčí jumped out at Fox, as did Kristaps Porzingis, and Fox bounced the pass between their hips right before they collided to give Keldon an easy And-1.
1st possession: threaten the drive, pull up for 3
Next possession: threaten the pull-up, find Keldon backdoor
Offensive mastery from De’Aaron Fox 💯 pic.twitter.com/WjHKoWtkbR
— NBA (@NBA) November 21, 2025
De’Aaron Fox may never be known as a deadeye sniper, but his improved shooting adds a new level to his game, and to his new team as well.