One mistake, one missed moment, and the internet locks it in forever. But between all that noise and outrage, people forget there is a real person behind the clip. That person is San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, and he is feeling every bit of that pain after his costly Game 4 blunder on Wednesday. Everyone is skipping past the much bigger reason behind that heartbreaking moment.

With 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, with San Antonio holding on to a 1-point lead, Fox chased down a loose ball and tried to finish it himself. Guess what? He missed the layup. Therefore, critics have been mercilessly blaming him for the Spurs’ loss in the crucial NBA Finals game. Now, while voices like Michelle Beadle tagged Fox as the “worst person on the floor,” NCAA legend John Calipari searched for the “why” of the failed attempt.

The Hall of Fame coach sat on The Dan Patrick Show and said, “Stop on De’Aaron Fox. He’s playing with a high ankle sprain; probably shouldn’t be playing. He would normally dunk that layup. If he would’ve dunked it, he’s the hero. The greatest thing that ever happened, and now he’s the biggest goat.”

He added, “What about other guys in the game? What would have happened to Josh if he missed that dunk and they had lost? You can’t do that.”

John Calipari’s unprompted blame on De’Aaron Fox‘s ankle injury would’ve made sense had it been a regular-season game. Sure, the 28-year-old is capable of nailing such layups and ending the moment with a dunk. But the audience is upset over something else entirely.

With barely 11 seconds remaining, even a made basket would have put San Antonio up by only 3 while handing New York one last chance to tie. So, instead of attacking, Fox could have milked the clock and forced a foul, making the blocked layup feel like a costly decision rather than a missed finish.

Calipari’s history with Fox likely explains his biased defense. Fox played his only college season at Kentucky in 2016-17 under the legendary coach, averaging 16.7 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.0 rebounds across 36 games. As a freshman, he announced himself on the national stage by scoring 39 points against UCLA in the Sweet 16, powering Kentucky into the Elite Eight.

After that blunderous Wednesday night at MSG, Fox walked up to Calipari, who sat courtside next to Adam Sandler and his wife Jackie.

“Next. Next. Amnesia. Go win the next three, kid,” Calipari shared on SportsCenter on Thursday. “He came up to me, saw I was on the baseline, he came up and gave me a hug, and I said, ‘Go, do your thing.’ How about this: he’s still hurt. He’s got a high ankle sprain that ain’t in the equation.”

Now, what’s more intriguing here is the fact that De’Aaron Fox’s ankle has been a problem for a while now.

De’Aaron Fox’s ankle riddle

The trouble started in Game 4 of the second-round playoffs against Minnesota. Ayo Dosunmu chased a loose ball that De’Aaron Fox had already secured, and in the scramble, he landed on the upper part of Fox’s leg. The Spurs guard and everyone around him grew frustrated. The sequence felt less like bad luck and more like a costly collision that changed everything.

Fox re-aggravated that ankle injury in Game 6 of the same series and missed the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the OKC Thunder. He fought his way back for Game 3, but the night became a painful reminder.

Late in the third quarter, Lu Dort crashed into the Spurs guard’s right ankle while chasing the ball. Fox slowly walked out of Frost Bank Center with the ankle still sore.

“Obviously, it is disappointing not being able to be 100 percent. But like I said, I’m able to be out there, so that’s all that matters to me right now,” Fox told The Athletic.

Now, the question is: How long will the ankle injury excuse work for De’Aaron Fox? The San Antonio Spurs are one game away from losing the title to the New York Knicks. Had they retained the 29-point lead in Game 4, the series would’ve been 2-2.