San Antonio Spurs' Stephon Castle believes the only way is up after De'Aaron Fox's excellent performance on his comeback.

Fox made his season debut in style on Saturday, as his 24 points helped the Spurs to a 126-119 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The 27-year-old had been recovering from a hamstring injury, but showed few signs of rustiness in his 31 minutes on the court.

It was his first game since March 12.

"We've been waiting for Fox to get back, really all summer," Castle said.

"It's great to have him back on the court. Obviously, you see how much of a help offensively he is for us. It's only up from here."

Fox joined the Spurs from the Sacramento Kings in February, and coach Mitch Johnson explained his display showed exactly why San Antonio had brought him in.

"He's dynamic," Johnson said.

"He's done it plenty of times and it's good to have him back on the court, and hopefully we can just continue to build."

What a night for @swipathefox pic.twitter.com/PwFg47FqOB

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 9, 2025

Fox, meanwhile, is content to take it cautiously as to not risk aggravating his injury.

"For me, as a player and as a competitor, obviously I want to get out there," he said.

"But I'm listening to [the medical staff] and they have the best interest for me because obviously I signed a contract to be here long term, so they want to protect the asset and make sure the asset is ready when I'm out there.

"So, for me, it was just trusting that, trusting the process, and I feel like we did a great job this summer and up in the early parts of the season."