{"id":558117,"date":"2026-01-24T17:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/558117\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T17:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:09:13","slug":"open-thread-spurs-hosted-annual-champions-for-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/558117\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread: Spurs hosted annual \u201cChampions For Change\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">On Friday evening 400 guests gathered at the Victory Capital Performance Center for the second annual \u201cChampions for Change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">This year\u2019s theme \u201cKicks for a Cause\u201d paired the Spurs players with local artists to create a unique pair of sneakers which were auctioned off for charity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">As the players entered the event, each witnessed the shoes designed in their honor while being introduced to the artist who brought their vision to light.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The shoes were designed by a local artist with input shared the player, personalizing the outcome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Wembanyama had an alien design while Lindy Waters III\u2019s pair featured a tribute to his Kiowa and Cherokee heritage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Mural artist JC Gomez Molina, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jc_texas_art_2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">JC Art (@jc_texas_art_2<\/a>, designed shoes for both Devin Vassell and Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo spent the most time of any player admiring his tribute.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Spurs sharpshooter Julian Champagnie, who\u2019s had an incredible start to 2026 shared,<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">\u201cMy shoe design was Transformer\u2026I think it was great\u2026I think each and every artist put their all into it, put their heart into it. I appreciate it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Spurs power forward Harrison Barnes, who proudly supports multiple philanthropic endeavors stated,<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">\u201cI think it\u2019s special to see a shoe like this. Each shoe represents something that\u2019s special to the players, that\u2019s meaningful to them, and you can see the talent from these artists has been spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Patricia Mejia, Chief Impact Officer at SS&amp;E, instrumental in the success of this event shared,<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">\u201cAt its core, Champions for Change is about using our platform to strengthen the communities we serve. This event represents what\u2019s possible when we work together with passion and purpose, and we\u2019re proud to continue advancing initiatives that foster belonging and drive positive change across San Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The event brought together Spurs players, coaches and community members for an evening featuring games and opportunities to connect while raising funds for local initiatives. Ping-pong, Jenga, and Pop-A-Shot took place throughout.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">In fact, at one point, we were told Keldon Johnson was going to spend a moment with the media, but he was waylaid due to a heated corn hole game involving Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The event raised over $450,000 to support community initiatives that align with Spurs Give. Patricia Mejia mentioned planning for next year will begin soon as the Spurs Organization continue to raise the bar on fundraising and add excitement surrounding the associated events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/nba\/teams\/san-antonio-spurs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Spurs<\/a> community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poundingtherock.com\/community-guidelines\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">community guidelines<\/a> apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Friday evening 400 guests gathered at the Victory Capital Performance Center for the second annual \u201cChampions for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,5842,6,969,474,64068,4075,4074,534],"class_list":{"0":"post-558117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-general","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","13":"tag-san-antonio-spurs-discussion","14":"tag-sanantonio","15":"tag-sanantoniospurs","16":"tag-spurs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115951184438392953","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}