saslchan

SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 1, 2021) – The San Antonio Spurs today unveiled its 2021-22 Nike NBA City Edition uniforms, mixing vintage and contemporary vibes in celebration the NBA’s 75th anniversary and the team’s legacy, present and bright future. The wildly popular 2020-21 Spurs City Edition uniforms marked the first time the team’s game jerseys included the iconic Fiesta® colored elements. 

“This year’s Nike NBA City Edition uniforms help fuel the celebration of the league’s 75th anniversary season,” says Aaron Cain, VP/GM, Men’s, at NIKE, Inc. “Each uniform tells a story, juxtaposing old and new to create an unforgettable look and feel for this milestone season. The result isn’t just a love letter to the game. It’s a celebration of fandom – and an invitation to a new generation.”

As part of the NBA 75th anniversary celebration, the Spurs City Edition uniforms will feature a diamond NBA logo embellishment on the jersey’s back center. Across the front chest, the Spurs name boldly states who they are while paying homage to their legacy championship teams.

“This season’s Nike NBA City Edition uniform is inspired by our legacy and built for our future,” said Becky Kimbro, VP of Brand Engagement for Spurs Sports &amp; Entertainment. “While each individual design element represents a unique moment in our history, the end result is an ode to our future.”  

The uniform shorts give a nod to the team’s genesis as the Dallas Chaparrals, a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team made its pivotal name change to the San Antonio Spurs before playing its first game in the city during the 1973-74 season and then moved the to the NBA in 1976. The shorts’ right vent features the ABA logo and the left side of the shorts are emblazoned with the Chaparrals’ historic logo, a blue chaparral bird dribbling a basketball across the state of Texas. Both sides of the shorts feature a diamond design throwing it back to the team’s Hemisphere days during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

On the cusp of an exciting new season, the players will sport a clean white version of the Nike NBA City Edition uniforms with the vintage turquoise, fuchsia and orange colors popping along the collar, jersey sides and shorts’ trim. The Spurs City Edition jerseys bring a fresh new style that’s nostalgic for long-time fans who have fond memories of the Fiesta® colors from team’s trademark game warmups during the 1989-90 to 1996-97 seasons.

The Spurs will debut the new uniforms on their home City Edition court on Nov. 12, and official retail product will be available on Nov. 15 at Spurs Fan Shops and online at spursfanshop.com at 9 a.m. CST as part of the NBA’s global retail launch. The complete collection will feature T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, jerseys, caps and more. Visit Spurs.com/cityedition for more information about the rollout and timeline. 

The Spurs will don their new Nike NBA City Edition uniforms at home for a total of 10 Fiesta® Nights, each with a collectible poster giveaway for all fans in attendance. Custom player bobbleheads will be given away on three of the Fiesta® Nights.  Derrick White on Jan. 28, Keldon Johnson on Mar. 18, and Dejounte Murray on Apr. 1.

Fans should stay tuned to Spurs social media channels and join the official San Antonio Spurs Fan Club for insider details around special collections and collaborations to debut in the coming weeks.

spurs-unveil-next-generation-of-fiesta-themed-city-edition-uniforms-for-the-2021-22-season

SPURS UNVEIL NEXT GENERATION OF FIESTA®-THEMED  CITY EDITION UNIFORMS FOR THE 2021-22 SEASON

manu-ginobili-the-photos

Manu Ginobili: The Photos

thank-you-tp

Thank You, TP

Brad Beldon had to see the church for himself and figure out how he could help. After hearing the news of Sunday’s mass shooting, Beldon took the 30-mile trip from San Antonio to Sutherland Springs. He saw the 26 white crosses that sit across the street from First Baptist Church.

Beldon, a Spurs Season Ticket Member who owns a local roofing company, asked Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt if he could repair the church. When the Sheriff told him that the church would be demolished, Beldon decided he will rebuild it.

“I don’t know how to make them feel better, but I do know how to build things,” Beldon said. “If I have to knock on every single door in San Antonio to make it happen, that’s what I’ll do. We’re not going to let one person destroy everything.”

Beldon has started a GoFundMe campaign to build a new church along with a memorial park at the site of the damaged church.

He has spent the days since the shooting fundraising, speaking with First Baptist Church parishioners and crying with them.

He heard the stories of the Holcombe family, which lost nine family members, including an unborn baby, in the shooting. He learned more about victims such as Peggy Warden, who shielded her grandson when the gunman opened fire.

Beldon doesn’t know any of the church members personally, but as a lifelong South Texas resident, he said he was going to find a way to help.

“I’m a Jewish roofer, but it doesn’t matter what our faith is,” he said. “These are our neighbors. We’re Texans. We help each other. I’m a firm believer that there’s a lot more love and good people in this world than hate and bad.”

Beldon is starting a non-profit called Rebuilding Sutherland Springs Inc. and has raised more than $100,000 so far. He’s worked with Mark Collins, a former associate pastor at First Baptist, to work on figuring out the new home for the church.

First Baptist Church will go on, with services scheduled for Sunday at the community center next door. First Baptist pastor Frank Pomeroy said it would be too painful to ever use the current church again.

Beldon said he hasn’t spoken to Pomeroy yet, as Pomeroy is also a father grieving the loss of his daughter. Beldon said he doesn’t want to disrupt any of the residents in their recovery.

He wants to be ready whenever the church is ready to rebuild.

“They can work on healing as best they can, and we will work as hard as we can to get them in a building as soon as possible,” Beldon said.  “When they open the door to the new church, the goal is a sense of hope. I hope when that day comes and the building is finished, someone will say ‘we’re going to be ok.’ I hope it’s a sunny day.”

rebuilding-sutherland-springs

Rebuilding Sutherland Springs

When it comes to moving on from an injury, Rudy Gay has been there before.

He missed the end of the 2011 season because of a separated shoulder and missed what would have been his first appearance in the NBA Playoffs. He watched in street clothes as his Memphis Grizzlies pulled off a first-round upset as the No. 8 seed.

Gay’s family was in town for the playoffs and he took them to dinner, putting on a brave face for those who could see through his disappointment the most.

He can’t remember the name of the Memphis restaurant, but remembers how he found empathy from an unlikely place.

Gay asked for the check and was told someone had already paid the bill. The opposing coach, Gregg Popovich, came over and gave some words of encouragement.

“I wanted to play so badly, and he felt for me,” Gay said. “Honestly, I didn’t know if Pop liked me before then. But I’ll never forget the way he cared. And I didn’t forget that when he called.”

The call came on July 1, the first day of 2017 NBA Free Agency. Gay said he wasn’t expecting to hear Popovich on the other line, asking him to come help the Spurs. Hearing Pop’s voice again couldn’t have come at a better time.

Gay has been one of the league’s most prolific scorers, as four players have averaged at least 15 points and 5 rebounds in each of the last 10 seasons. Two are LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. The others are Spurs: LaMarcus Aldridge and Gay.

Although he has averaged double figures in scoring for his entire career, he appeared in one playoff series in that time.

He’s also recovering a torn Achilles in January that caused him to miss most of the 2016-17 season. As he enters his 12th NBA season, Gay plans to come back “stronger than ever.”

It’s up for debate whether this is the second act of Rudy Gay’s career or the third or the fourth. According to Gay, there’s no question it will be his most determined.

“It’s a do-or-die point in my career,” Gay said. “I wanted to be with an organization that’s known for winning and can help me raise my game to the next level. So where else are you going to go?”

The injury happened on a baseline drive in Sacramento, as Gay had to be carried off the court.  

Gay said the first thing he did was cry. In the following days, he did research on Achilles injuries, while blocking out anyone who mentioned that the injury is a “death wish” for athletes.

Gay contacted Kobe Bryant and Wes Matthews, who both came back from torn Achilles in recent seasons. Even 25 years ago, Dominique Wilkins played seven more seasons of professional basketball after he ruptured his Achilles.

“My initial reaction after the injury was ‘I’m doomed’ to be honest,” Gay said. “But a couple of days after, I felt more motivation than I’ve ever felt before. It put my whole career into perspective and I felt like I had to do something.”

Gay was immobile for the first four months after injury, using a knee scooter for the first two months.

It was the longest he’d gone since childhood without playing a game, running through a lay-up line, or even jumping.

Time away from basketball was equal parts torture and therapy. Every day without dribbling somehow gave him more resolve.

“It’s one of the toughest things I’ve had to do in my life, not just my career,” Gay said. “I didn’t want to just be healthy or just be able to play, I want to be great. That took a lot more sweat and a lot more time.”

Given all the work he put in to get back to basketball, Gay was going to make the next phase of his career count.

San Antonio appealed the most to Gay’s competitive drive. He is 31 now, a proven veteran who only wants to talk about all he has left to prove.

Gay has appeared in seven career playoff games. Regardless of injury, he spent May watching from home for another season.

Since Gay’s rookie season, the Spurs have played 153 postseason games.

“I’ve always been a competitor, and it makes me wants to be a part of something great,” Gay said. “There are a lot of things you want to do with your career or on the basketball court, but it’s not as easy as it looks. Numbers don’t mean anything if you don’t win, so you have to make the right decisions in your career. That’s why I’m here.”

Gay and Aldridge were in the same rookie class together and have known each other since then. “He’s motivated to come in here and win,” Aldridge said. “That’s his whole focus and he’s dialed-in.”

Gay played with Pau Gasol in Memphis and has had plenty of matchups against Kawhi Leonard in recent seasons. With the Spurs, Gay finds stability he had long been seeking.

Popovich will be Gay’s 11th head coach in the NBA. Gay had four head coaches in the past four seasons with Sacramento.

When Popovich called in July, Gay was ready to answer.

 “This really was an easy choice for me,” Gay said. “There’s a great history in San Antonio, and I want to contribute to it.”

rudy-gays-next-step

Rudy Gay's Next Step

Tim Duncan looked up the hilltop and saw obliteration.

No roofs left on the 50 or so houses on the hill. No leaves or bark left on the trees that covered the gorgeous Virgin Islands landscape.

And no people. They were all gathered by the ports or the airport, waiting in line two or three hours for some canned food.

When he looked up at the hilltop, he saw his story. He was reminded of 28 years ago when his family was waiting at a distribution center to get food for the day after Category 5 Hurricane Hugo. How they had to figure out a way to rebuild their island lives from the wreckage, and the VI took years to rebuild.

Last month, two Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, hit the U.S. Virgin Islands in the span of 12 days. Some estimates said 70 to 80 percent of all structures on the main three islands – Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas - suffered damage. “Hurricane Maria drowned what Irma didn’t destroy,” a New York Times headline read.

Duncan, a Saint Croix native, immediately pitched in to help his home. He organized four planes to bring in 170,000 pounds of supplies for the Virgin Islands last month. But it is nowhere near enough.

As Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico recover from hurricanes as well, Duncan said his ask is simple:

“The problem is that people start forgetting and everybody’s focus is elsewhere,” Duncan said. “I saw houses gone, roads covered in debris, trees stripped of leaves. And I saw people scrambling in survival mode, trying to find food and places to stay. People down there need your help. They need to be recognized and not forgotten during these times.”

When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast in August, volunteers and supplies came in from all over the United States. Duncan and his BlackJack Speed Shop sent supplies to Houston, but more weather systems bringing much more devastation were forming in the Atlantic Ocean.

Irma came through and hit St. John and St. Thomas the hardest. St. Thomas was hit with wind gusts up to 185 miles per hour, becoming the most intense Atlantic hurricane to hit American soil since Katrina in 2005.

“After the first hurricane, the people of St. Croix gathered up as much as they could to send it to St. Thomas,” Duncan said. “They used up a lot of resources to help a neighbor, and then here comes a hurricane that puts them in the same situation. These people are strong, they’re resilient, they’ve dealt with disasters, but not two in a 10-day span. Now, people are scrambling.”

The winds were so strong that planes flipped over and the airports shut down for weeks. Power may not return fully until December according to news outlets. Both of the Virgin Islands’ hospitals need to be rebuilt, with a mobile hospital currently going up on the front lawn of the main building. Some schools are working toward reopening in the coming months, but others have been condemned.

“You see those houses decimated, everything mangled and twisted, that really brings you into the reality of the situation,” Duncan said. “When you’re not there, it’s not a reality. It’s not right in your face, you don’t feel it or live it, so it’s easy to forget. But people are fighting in the VI and they need your help.”

To donate, please give to the 21 US Virgin Island Relief Fund at https://www.youcaring.com/21usvirginislandrelieffund-942738

Player's Tribune: Don't Forget About The Islands

Spurs.com: Tim Duncan Asks You To Help The Virgin Islands

tim-duncan-the-vi-still-needs-your-help

Tim Duncan: The VI Still Needs Your Help

The Team Up Challenge moment that changed Jose Medellin was meeting a fourth-grader named Maria.

Medellin, a junior at the University of Texas-San Antonio two years ago, signed up to be a Team Up Challenge Scholar and mentor students through TUC, which teaches kids civic responsibility through hands-on learning and service projects.

Medellin met Maria at Northwest Crossing Elementary school, where they made take-home meals for students who wouldn’t have enough food to eat during the weekend otherwise.

“I saw a reflection of my story in Maria,” Medellin said. “My parents came to America to give me a better life, and so did hers. She learned to speak English on the fly like I did. She’s so energetic and wants to go to college and help others. It changes you when you can be a mentor, and everybody has that ability to impact someone else.”

The Team Up Challenge is seeking 2017-18 scholars from San Antonio area colleges to impact local students. Scholars are paired with a school and meet at least twice a month to work on their program.  Team Up Challenge Scholars receive a $2,000 stipend and can apply through September 20 at www.teamupchallenge.com.

Medellin, who is originally from nearby Seguin, was the first member of his family to graduate college. Now, he continues to work with Spurs Sports &amp; Entertainment as a San Antonio FC Sales Representative. Medellin said his favorite thing about the Team Up Challenge is the dose of perspective it provided, that every person can be a role model. He’s since signed up to mentor a student as part of SS&amp;E’s InspireU program, through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“I wasn’t empowering the kids as much as Team Up Challenge empowered me to be a mentor for others,” Medellin said. “When you see parents tearing up because their kids are getting food for the weekend and you see these elementary school kids working together to help others, it’s unforgettable.”

Medellin is one of two Team Up Scholars who have gone on to work for Spurs Sports &amp; Entertainment, along with research coordinator Liza Southwick.

Southwick, a Nashville native who attended Trinity University, said she wanted to use the Team Up Challenge as a way to get involved in the San Antonio community.

She went on to be a Team Up Challenge Scholar at three schools across the city, including last year’s Team Up Challenge MVPs MacArthur High School. MacArthur’s MacTEACH program includes tutoring to four elementary and middle schools and to refugee students, activities and events for ALE (Alternative Learning Experience) students, humanitarian outreach programs, adult technology and English language education and more.

“They call it the Trinity bubble, because a lot of people don’t leave campus,” Southwick said. “I got a chance to see the best of San Antonians and I’d almost leave MacArthur in tears because it was just so rewarding.”

The Team Up Challenge moment Southwick said changed her the most was MacTEACH’s adult technology education. As the MacArthur students were tutoring elementary school students and refugee students, some of those being tutored had parents who were not native English speakers. She was teaching things she took for granted such as how to use a computer and set up an e-mail account, and the response always left her moved.

“People are so grateful when you give just a little bit of your time,” Southwick said. “When you’re in college, you can be wrapped up in your own world, but the Team Up Challenge takes you out of it and gives you perspective about how to help others.”

team-up-challenge-scholars-make-an-impact

Team Up Challenge Scholars Make An Impact

Tim Duncan was 13-years-old when Hurricane Hugo ripped through his home of St. Croix.

He huddled in a small bathroom with his family while they prayed for the roof to stay over their heads. He remembers living off cans of Chef Boyardee in the months afterward, while most of his island was still without power.

Twenty-eight years later, Hurricane Irma has hit the U.S. Virgin Islands with just as much force as Hugo.

This time around, Duncan is in a place where he can provide some relief to his home, and he’s asking for help.

Duncan is asking for donations to support Hurricane Irma relief on the U.S. Virgin Islands, as early reports of devastating damage to the islands of St. John and St. Thomas have come in.

Duncan has set up a relief fund at YouCaring where he pledged to match the first $1 million given, in addition to an initial $250,000 donation. 

He’s also collecting donations in San Antonio and will charter a plane filled with supplies and head to the Virgin Islands later this week.

“I’ve been through it,” Duncan said. “I’ve lived through it. I know at some point, somebody was doing this for me. I don’t know who it was, but somebody was. Now, I can be that guy. So why not do it?”

San Antonians can donate non-perishable items on Monday and Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at two H-E-B locations, 17238 Bulverde Road and 4100 S New Braunfels Ave.

There are also volunteer opportunities to collect the donations at the San Antonio Food Bank. For more on volunteering, visit SAFoodBank.org.

“We were spared from hurricane Harvey so that we could respond,” said Eric Cooper, President and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank.

When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas two weeks ago, Duncan donated supplies through his foundation and the BlackJack Speed Shop.

Duncan has often given back to the Virgin Islands in private over the years. There’s a famous story from Duncan’s youth that he took up basketball after Hurricane Hugo destroyed St. Croix’s only Olympic-sized swimming pool.  A few years ago, Duncan donated money to restore the pool.

Having lived through the devastation of a hurricane, Duncan used his first press conference since retiring to make a public plea for the islands.

“It’s pretty decimated, especially in St. Thomas and St. John,” Duncan said. “A lot of destruction, a lot of homes down, power is out everywhere. I’ll see more when I get down there, but it’s pretty devastating.”

Since Duncan posted his fundraiser online on Friday, more than 10,000 people have donated and he’s near the goal he set of $1 million. It’s a dollar figure he will match himself.

On Friday, Duncan wrote “Don’t forget about the Islands” in The Player’s Tribune, telling the story of how Hugo affected him and why the Virgin Islands need help now.

“Islands like ours tend to get forgotten after storms,” Duncan wrote. “We’re remote, which makes it hard to deliver supplies quickly, cheaply and adequately. A lot of people don’t think of the Virgin Islands as someone’s home, but as more of a getaway — it was only when I got older that I figured that out.”