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San Antonio Spurs forward David Jones Garcia, left, talks with assistant coach Corliss Williamson during practice at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
PHOENIX \u2014 David Jones Garcia didn\u2019t need a medical professional to tell him he was in trouble.<\/p>\n
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All he needed was a set of working ears.<\/p>\n
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For 24 years, the Spurs guard had walked the Earth as an ambulatory human. He had never once heard his ankle make that sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard a pop,\u201d Jones Garcia said, \u201cand I knew I was done.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gruesome right ankle injury Jones Garcia suffered last January while playing for the Austin Spurs in a G League game didn\u2019t just bring his promising rookie season to a premature end.<\/p>\n
For a time, it brought Jones Garcia himself to a standstill. The injury sent him into a funk so deep he barely wanted to leave the house.<\/p>\n
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Healthy and back on the floor for his second NBA preseason, which continued Saturday in Phoenix, Jones Garcia is beginning to feel like himself again.<\/p>\n
Or maybe like someone new altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019ve been reborn,\u201d Jones Garcia said.<\/p>\n
According to his birth certificate, Jones Garcia was born November 24, 2001 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
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In basketball terms, however, Jones Garcia now celebrates a new birthday: Oct. 8, 2026.<\/p>\n
Playing in his first competitive basketball game in nearly nine months, Jones Garcia pumped in 14 quick points in 15 second-half minutes in the Spurs\u2019 123-116 preseason-opening loss to Atlanta on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Jones Garcia is back on a two-way contract, but the Spurs have an open spot on their 15-man roster that could give him a path to a full NBA deal.<\/p>\n
He hopes to compete with veteran returnee Jordan McLaughlin as a fourth point guard behind the star trio of De\u2019Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.<\/p>\n
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San Antonio Spurs guard David Jones Garcia (25) goes up for a shot through a sea of Atlanta Hawks defenders during the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. The Spurs fell 123-116 to the Hawks in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Atlanta Hawks guard Kingston Flemings (4) gets past San Antonio Spurs guard David Jones Garcia (25) to make a layup during the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. The Spurs fell 123-116 to the Hawks in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Spurs\u2019 David Jones Garcia takes a shot over De\u2019Aaron Fox during the Silver & Black Scrimmage at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
So far, so good for the 6-foot-4 Jones Garcia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks healthy,\u201d coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cIf people didn\u2019t know, I don\u2019t think someone would say he looks like someone coming off an injury like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, Jones Garcia most certainly is coming off an injury like that. He has the scars, both visible and invisible, to show for it.<\/p>\n
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The pop Jones Garcia heard emanating from his lower right leg was only the start of the story.<\/p>\n
The ankle was broken, and injury that would require season-ending surgery to solve. A lengthy and grueling rehab process followed.<\/p>\n
For six weeks, Jones Garcia \u2014 whose livelihood depends on quick-twitch drives and sudden changes of direction \u2014 was prohibited from walking unassisted.<\/p>\n
He had to ride an electric scooter everywhere.<\/p>\n
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Which meant he wanted to go nowhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI barely wanted to leave my house,\u201d Jones Garcia said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want people to feel sorry for me. I didn\u2019t want to be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jones Garcia, the injury brought a record-scratching end to what had been, up to that point, a feel-good rookie season.<\/p>\n
One of only two Dominican-born players on active NBA rosters \u2014 Golden State\u2019s Al Horford is the other \u2013 Jones Garcia earned a training camp spot with the Spurs after a standout 2025 Summer League.<\/p>\n
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He made the team on a two-way contract, splitting his time between San Antonio and the G League, where he had been a star the previous season with the Mexico City Capitanes.<\/p>\n
Jones Garcia announced himself to the NBA with 12 points in a Nov. 20 victory over Atlanta, quickly becoming a fan favorite at the Frost Bank Center, then went back to tearing up the G League.<\/p>\n
In late January, Jones Garcia was named a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend.<\/p>\n
By then, however, his season was already over. Season-ending ankle surgery was looming.<\/p>\n
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The ankle injury cost Jones Garcia more than valuable time in his NBA development. For a while, it left him wondering who he was without basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I love the game of basketball,\u201d Jones Garcia said. \u201cWithout the game, I was down on myself. It was hard. I basically locked myself in my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there was the scooter, which Jones Garcia came to loathe with the intensity of a toddler staring down a plate of green vegetables.<\/p>\n
He absolutely hated the thing.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m used to being on my two feet, running and jumping,\u201d Jones Garcia said. \u201cBeing on that scooter for a little while, it\u2019s hard to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
With basketball taken away, Jones Garcia found other ways to pass the time. He renewed his interest in reading and dusted off his Xbox, sometimes firing up NBA 2K to play as himself.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t run or jump in real life. On the screen, at least, his virtual self was still free to do both.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got pretty good at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Day by day, Jones Garcia got back on his feet. Eventually, he got back on the court.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until June that he started to feel like himself again.<\/p>\n
On the morning of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York, Jones Garcia joined team staffers and other end-of-the-bench players for a post-practice workout at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n
For the first time in months, the finish line was finally in sight.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAt least I was moving,\u201d Jones Garcia said.<\/p>\n
The injury tested Jones Garcia in ways he hadn\u2019t anticipated. He learned something about himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow patient I can be,\u201d Jones Garcia said.<\/p>\n
Now with a clean bill of health, Jones Garcia is done waiting.<\/p>\n
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Last season, he kicked open the door to an NBA career, only to have it slammed shut again.<\/p>\n
His goal now is to kick it open once more \u2014 surgically repaired ankle and all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I look at as a step in my career, a challenge that God sent me,\u201d Jones Garcia said. \u201cNow I\u2019m here. Finally, I can get back to the game I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
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