Overview
- The San Antonio Spurs announced that country singer Mickey Guyton will perform the national anthem before Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center.
- Game 5 is a do-or-die contest for the Spurs and will be carried on ABC and streamed on the ESPN app, putting the anthem in front of a nationwide audience.
- Guyton is an Arlington native who rose to wider attention with the 2020 song “Black Like Me” and previously sang the anthem at Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
- The Express-News published an almost-complete list of Spurs Finals anthem performers, noting roughly 20 Spurs home Finals games and past singers ranging from Jordin Sparks to Austin Mahone.
- Anthem slots for Spurs Finals games are rare high-visibility moments that can boost an artist’s profile and revive local memories, including the 2013 Sebastien De La Cruz episode that drew an NBA rebuke of racist online attacks.