Sebastian De La Cruz will again perform the National Anthem at the Spurs’ Game 3 against OKC, returning to a stage he’s well familiar with.
SAN ANTONIO — Thirteen years after gaining national attention on the NBA Finals stage, mariachi singer Sebastian De La Cruz is returning once again to center court in San Antonio.
Team officials said De La Cruz, widely known as “El Charro del Oro,” will perform the national anthem before Game 3 of San Antonio’s Western Conference Finals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The appearance marks another milestone in De La Cruz’s long-running connection with the franchise and Spurs fans, dating back to his breakout performance during the 2013 NBA Finals and continuing with his two other 2026 playoffs performances so far.
De La Cruz first gained national attention on June 11, 2013, when he performed the anthem before Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Miami Heat. At the time, he was just 11 years old. His mariachi-style rendition drew widespread praise from fans in the arena, but also sparked racist backlash online.
“2% of the people were negative, but the rest was all positive,” De La Cruz said at the time. “It made me feel like people appreciated what I did for my culture.”
Two days later, the Spurs invited him back to sing again before Game 4 in a show of support and solidarity. The encore performance became a defining moment for both the young singer and the organization.
Since then, De La Cruz has made several returns to the Spurs’ home court, including a regular-season appearance in 2019 and a celebrated performance earlier this year during Game 1 of San Antonio’s first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 19, 2026.
That performance served as a full-circle moment for De La Cruz, who returned to the Frost Bank Center as an adult more than a decade after his original NBA Finals appearance.
Now, with the Spurs back on one of basketball’s biggest stages, De La Cruz is once again set to perform before a national audience as San Antonio hosts Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.