SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones appeared on NBA Tip-Off ahead of Game 1 of the Spurs-Knicks NBA Finals on Wednesday, joining hosts including Charles Barkley for the pregame show broadcast from San Antonio.
Barkley told Jones he was “so glad” to be back in the city, even though he is known to make jokes about San Antonio. You can see some of the interaction in a YouTube video posted by ESPN.
At the beginning of the video, Jones took a playful dig toward Barkley.
“I learned a long time ago, you can’t teach courage, you can’t teach class, and Mr. Barkley reminds us of that,” Jones said.
Jones quickly defended San Antonio’s River Walk after Barkley called it a creek during the pregame show, touting it as the top tourist destination in Texas.
“We are very proud of our River Walk. We’ve got so much to enjoy here,” Jones said. “The number one tourist destination in the entire state. … We are so proud of our city, and we even welcome you.”
Jones also drew a connection between the 1999 Spurs championship and the current season, noting she graduated sixth in her class from John Jay High School that same year.
“We are so excited because we are going, San Antonio is going to the championship like it’s 1999,” she said. ” … This is how I know we’re going to win. So in 1999, when I graduated from John Jay High School, I was number six in my class.”
When one of the hosts asked Jones whether she and the mayor of New York have a bet, she said they have “something” and that they are waiting to reveal it.
“We’re waiting to reveal it,” she said. “But, you know, we’re looking forward to winning.”
Toward the end of the video, Jones presented churros to the hosts, making a remark to Barkley in the process.
“Chuck has lots of thoughts about the churros,” Jones said. “We know he’s on a diet, but we know he’s not really on a diet. So here are the churros.”
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