Commentary: How a trip to Ingram helped bond, unite the San Antonio Spurs to greatness

There will be plenty of analyses from sports writers, pundits and podcasters about the San Antonio Spurs’ ascension to the NBA Finals this week, but to me, it’s a clear path that started on Sept. 10, 2025 at Ingram Tom Moore High School.

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of team-building exercises out there that bond units together, but it certainly feels like the San Antonio Spurs practice session at the tiny ITM gym was a point when you might argue this team was destined for greatness. The Spurs didn’t have to make that trip to Ingram in the weeks before the start of the season. They could have stayed home in their comfortable surroundings, but they made the effort.

Is this the sole reason the Spurs will take on the Knicks in the NBA Finals? No. However, it marks an important milestone in their team’s development. This is a team that looked like it wasn’t quite ready to reach the NBA’s pinnacle in its battle against defending NBA champs — the Oklahoma Thunder. Still, they found a way to win, doing so through perseverance on the road.

That resiliency takes bonding, and again, when I went back and looked at the videos and photos from that afternoon in Ingram, I have to believe it started there — a key building block toward the NBA Finals.

That trip was initiated by Spurs ownership and management, but it was executed by head coach Mitch Johnson, who made trips to Kerr County in the days immediately after the flood. Johnson saw the devastation firsthand through his volunteer efforts; he connected with the community, especially Ingram Tom Moore football coach and athletic director Tate DeMasco.

The organization, along with Texas’ other professional sports franchises, demonstrated extraordinary compassion and care for Kerr County in the days, weeks and months after the flood. Major League Soccer’s Austin club honored the Tivy High School boys soccer team, which had lost its head coach in the flood. The Houston Astros championed an effort to rebuild Ingram’s Little League fields. The Dallas Cowboys honored the first responders from the Kerrville Police Department. The state’s NBA teammates partnered with the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country to rebuild flood-ravaged Guadalupe Park in Kerrville.

However, what stood out during the Spurs’ Sept. 10 visit was that the players understood the importance of the assignment. In a time of cynical skepticism toward professional athletes, the Spurs showed up as a unified team determined to bring a bit of joy to a community that had witnessed an unimaginable tragedy.

“We wanted to make sure we showed up as an organization, but we wanted to make sure the players got here,” Johnson said.

What stood out most that day was when guard Keldon Johnson grabbed the microphone and spoke directly to the star-struck students. It was clear the players would lead this effort.

“It wasn’t hard for us to get excited for this moment,” said Johnson, who has spent six years with the Spurs since being taken in the 2019 NBA draft first round. “When we came into this atmosphere, it was amazing. There were so many smiles, so many cheers and so much love.”

By far, superstar center Victor Wembanyama was the No. 1 attraction, and what made his appearance remarkable was that he gave numerous kids the opportunity to say hello, get an autograph or get a high-five. He was mobbed by adoring students and ultimately had to be pulled away so the team could leave.

The underlying message was that this was a team on a mission, one that knows the importance of community and one unified enough to win a sixth NBA title.