San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson started De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle together for the first time during Wednesday’s 123-103 preseason victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The three guards combined for 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the first half, helping San Antonio establish a 60-49 lead at halftime.
The trio initially struggled offensively, with Harper and Castle missing their first five combined shots. Fox, making his preseason debut, was substituted with 6:57 remaining in the opening quarter.
However, the combination showed encouraging signs as the game progressed. The three guards shared the floor for 11 minutes in the first half and recorded a plus-10 net rating.
Their previous experience playing together was limited. During the 2025-26 season, Fox, Harper and Castle spent only 69 minutes on the court together, including 25 minutes in the NBA Finals. San Antonio was outscored by 47 points during those stretches.
Johnson acknowledged that questions remain about whether three players accustomed to handling the basketball can successfully share the floor.
“I understand the narrative around it,” said Johnson. “I always land on the same reasoning at the very end of it. They’re three of our better players. I know the majority of their lives, maybe their highlight tape is typically with the basketball in their hands.
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“But De’Aaron Fox has played with other handlers and played off the ball a ton. Steph Castle won a national championship [at UConn] basically not touching the ball ever for the start of a possession. They’ve done it here. We didn’t do it a lot last year.
“Dylan was a rookie who couldn’t play more than 20 minutes for half the season [in 2025-26] because he was going to cough up a lung because he wasn’t in shape. I think they can dribble, pass, shoot, defend, make winning plays. They’re unselfish. They have good size.”
Johnson had originally planned to use the lineup in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks, but Fox missed that game because of general soreness.
