ESPN Crew Criticized for Ignoring De'Aaron Fox's Costly Mistake in NBA Finals Game 4

Maybe they were just caught up in the moment, but the entirety of the ESPN crew appeared to miss a pretty crucial moment during their NBA Finals Game 4 coverage last night.

There was no shortage of stunning moments on the court in the waning moments of the game. Between the OG Anunoby play, the Jose Alvarado moment and a slew of other things that altered the game there were countless moments that defined Game 4 as an all-time sports classic.

But one of the most crucial moments came with around a minute to go when De'Aaron Fox missed a layup on a play where he should have held onto the ball and milked the clock while the Spurs were up one.

That moment, as Awful Announcing pointed out, received barely a mention by the combined efforts of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, and Tim Legler.

It wouldn't be mentioned again by anyone at ESPN - let alone shown on the screen - until Charles Barkley started talking about it during the Inside the NBA postgame show.

The Blame on Fox

ESPN might not have had the presence of mind to point to Fox's boneheaded play, but NBA fans certainly did.

"You take De'Aaron Fox's brain and put it in a bird he's gonna bark," one user on X declared.

"Did Rich Paul plant Fox on Spurs to sabotage Wemby's legacy?!" another joked.

"Are we sure Fox didn't just Terry Rozier the finals? Ain't no way he's actually this bad, right?" a third remarked.

Fox will have to play the best, mistake-free basketball of his life over the next week in order to redeem himself even slightly in the eyes of San Antonio fans.

Game 5 will be in San Antonio this Saturday.

The Spurs had better have a short memory if they want to avoid seeing it all end in front of their home crowd.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 9:31 AM.