The San Antonio Spurs returned to the playoffs with a splash, debuting a colorful, well-coordinated set of playoff shirts for their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Rather than opt for one shirt for the whole arena, the Spurs decided to get creative, painting the crowd in brightly-colored stripes.
The blue-, pink- and orange-colored shirts are an homage to Fiesta San Antonio, an annual festival that takes place in April. The crowd coordinates with the colors on the Spurs’ uniforms for Sunday’s game, part of the City Edition jerseys unveiled by the team in November.
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The court’s design matches the colors as well, with the paint decked in turquoise and a colorful stripe of all three colors across the center-court logo.
Audience participation was a key to the effect. Pregame, the Spurs singled out fans on the Jumbotron, asking them to put on their shirts, and thanked the crowd for participating.
Even Spurs legends David Robinson and Tim Duncan were bought in, wearing their marigold-colored shirts courtside.
That buy-in appeared to work, with nearly every member of the crowd happily wearing their shirts — and cheering loudly from the jump.
Sunday’s series opener marks the Spurs’ first playoffs appearance in six seasons. After a tough couple of years, but San Antonio is back in the postseason as a high-seeded team with the help of star center Victor Wembanyama, who is nominated for league MVP as well as Defensive Player of the Year.