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Anthony Morrow: Right now San Antonio is like the little brother of Oklahoma City. Like they're right in the same path. Like you see how Sam Presti has developed this team to be what they are now. It's the same as what San Antonio was with developing who they were and they've been sustainable. Shout out to Coach Popovich, RC Buford, doing that work over there and just the development, and I know Sam kind of took that blueprint and went there with it. I would love to see them in the Western Conference Finals every year for the next five years or something like that because they still young.
Joe Boylan: He looks for the same simplicity in people. When hiring, he wants curiosity and the will to work. “Does not have to be a rocket scientist,” he said. “Just someone who wants to understand things better.” Volas also asks questions of everyone. “Even ask the arrogant ones. They will tell you things of great value.” Volas asked one last question before we wrapped: “How do you treat people when nobody’s looking? And how do you treat people who can do nothing for you?” It reminded me of an undrafted rookie with the Golden State Warriors named Kent Bazemore, who would go four hours early to pregame to get extra work. One night in San Antonio, a team executive walked up and said, “How long has RC been watching you guys?” We looked to see Spurs president RC Buford watching quietly from a suite.
But the Spurs offer, when it came, was too good to refuse: $7 an hour, minimum wage in Texas. “Dude, it was tough,” he says. But Saleh jumped at it and, over four years in San Antonio, was exposed to nearly every aspect of the organization. Most importantly, he had the chance to work alongside the likes of RC Buford and Gregg Popovich, the legendary management and coaching tandem that had led the Spurs to four of their five NBA titles. “RC Buford and Pop were amazing mentors of mine,” Saleh says. “They were phenomenal in my growth and development and then, after (four) years there, the Warriors ended up hitting me up. I didn’t think I was going to leave San Antonio, but 15 minutes in a room with (then Warriors president) Bob Myers sold me.”
RJ Marquez: BREAKING: Spurs CEO RC Buford releases statement on term sheet agreement: - Spurs commitment will be $2.1B total - Ensures no “tax impact” and 100% cost of overruns - Thanks Erik Walsh, city council, Judge Peter Sakai, commissioners for work to get term sheet before Thurs. vote.
RJ Marquez: Here’s the break down of the term sheet commitments from the Spurs: - SSE says $500M directly to arena, $1.4B overall guarantee - Spurs increased community benefits package to $75M - No money diverted from city’s general fund - $489M from city, $311M from county (public vote)
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The San Antonio Spurs are strengthening their ties to Victor Wembanyama’s homeland, announcing a new agreement Tuesday to have the French digital asset security firm Ledger be its new jersey sponsor. Ledger is based in Paris, where the Spurs played two games last season. The Spurs have long had an enormous following in France, with players like Tony Parker and Boris Diaw playing for San Antonio before the team drafted Wembanyama in 2023. “This moment cements a decades-long history of international collaboration and growth by the Spurs organization, as the game of basketball has grown to touch every culture and continent,” said RC Buford, the CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment. It is a multi-year deal, but specific terms were not announced.
Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said Gregg Popovich coach has been aggressive in his recovery from a November stroke, with the team saying he continues to make progress. "All I can share is he's attacking his rehab in a way that ... you know Pop, you've observed him for years," Buford, one of the people closest to Popovich, said Wednesday. "The same resilience that he's shown over the course of our career as a coach, he's approaching his return in his rehab in an incredibly unique way. The relationships that he had with our former players and the care that they're sharing with him is amazing. And his improvement continues."
"We fully support the decision to postpone tomorrow’s Spurs-Lakers game," Spurs CEO RC Buford said in statement late Friday night. "It’s beyond heartbreaking to see the widespread devastation across the Los Angeles community. Our thoughts remain with all of those impacted by the wildfires, from families who have experienced incomprehensible loss to the first responders who continue to bravely fight on the front lines."
Matthew Tynan: Spoke briefly with RC Buford last night before the game. He said he hadn’t yet had a chance to see Pop since returning from out of town (assuming Spurs road trip), but was told this last week was a particularly good one in his recovery. Things trending in right direction.
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What better way to shed the team’s long-standing designation as a small market franchise than to cultivate one of the wealthiest cities in one of the fastest-growing areas in the country during one of its singular events? “We have a market that isn’t in the top 10 in the country,” R.C. Buford, CEO of Spurs Sports and Entertainment (SS&E) told The Athletic. “When we connect our San Antonio and Austin markets we become one of the major players in the professional sports community.
What were your initial impressions of Tony Parker when you first saw him play? And what was the setting? Mike Brown: “The first time I saw him play was when our front office, led by R.C. Buford, had us work him out at the pre-draft camp in Chicago [in 2001]. I thought he was just okay. He was fast, obviously. That stood out. But he really couldn’t shoot the ball well. He didn’t have a medium game. We had put him in through some drills, and we just didn’t know what he would bring to the table. After that first workout, the coaching staff wasn’t really that high on him. We liked him, but he didn’t have a great workout. RC Buford and Sam Presti were the ones that convinced all of us to take a second look at him."
RC Buford has spent nearly a decade plotting this. He’s been all over the world, visiting 200 places, seeing what works for other teams. Ideas kept coming, not just from the basketball landscape, but from skiing and soccer and eSports and cycling and even Formula One. Hour after hour, day after day, he became more consumed by the idea and more immersed into how to make it reality. His task is almost done. The San Antonio Spurs — just in time for No. 1 overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season — are about to get a new practice home, one that might be among the most advanced in the world.