As part of a salute to the men and women of our Armed Forces, TOPS IN BLUE, an all-active-duty special unit of the United States Air Force, will perform the U.S. national anthem before Game 6 of The Finals at the SBC Center in San Antonio. The performance and Game 6 will be televised on ABC with coverage beginning 8:30 p.m. (ET) in the U.S. and to a global audience in 205 countries.

The Spurs hold a 3-2 series lead in The Finals.

TOPS IN BLUE, based out of the Air Force Services Agency in San Antonio, is one of the oldest and most widely traveled entertainment groups of its kind. The elite 18 vocalists of TOPS IN BLUE performing before Game 6 are some of the most talented performers in the military and will appear along with a joint service color guard of all five U.S. Armed Forces: the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard.

As part of the performance, there will be a ceremonial flag-bearing with flags representing each of the countries or territories of international players competing in The Finals: Argentina (Spurs’ Manu Ginobili), France (Spurs’ Tony Parker), Puerto Rico (Pistons’ Carlos Arroyo), Serbia-Montenegro (Pistons’ Darko Milicic), Slovenia (Spurs’ Rasho Nesterovic, Beno Udrih) and U.S. Virgin Islands (Spurs’ Tim Duncan).

“TOPS IN BLUE is proud to partner with the NBA to show America’s support for the men and women who are serving around the world," says Tom Edwards, Director of TOPS IN BLUE.

The NBA has a long history of supporting our troops and the USO. NBA Legends Artis Gilmore, Spencer Haywood, Gail Goodrich and Dan Roundfield visited Kuwait along with multi-platinum vocalist Kelly Clarkson to bring a boost of morale to U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. ABC’s coverage of Game 2 of The Finals featured Clarkson singing the U.S. national anthem via satellite from one of the military camps visited on the trip. In June 2003, the NBA was also part of the first USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour to the Persian Gulf region, bringing NBA players Troy Hudson, Ervin Johnson, Mark Madsen, Shawn Marion and Cherokee Parks along with Haywood and Hall of Famer Bob Lanier to pay tribute to the U.S. and coalition armed forces.

Known as the Air Force’s Expeditionary Entertainers, the full TOPS IN BLUE unit is comprised of 32 members including vocalists, musicians and variety performers. Since its first world tour in 1953, TOPS IN BLUE has toured the world, making special trips throughout Western, Central and Eastern Europe, the Far East, Middle East, Central America, Canada and all 50 U.S. states. The group has also performed on film, produced albums and appeared on national television with the likes of Ed Sullivan and Bob Hope. The main mission of TOPS IN BLUE is to perform for military personnel and their families. Their enormous popularity led them to worldwide performances for numerous heads of state and dignitaries, and has made them America’s goodwill ambassadors.