High School

San Antonio Spurs Donate New Shoes To Wagner High School Basketball Teams

As part of the Spurs on-going community outreach, the Wagner Thunderbirds all received Nike team shoes for their 2025 high school basketball season.

Wendell Maxey

Just in time for the start of their '25-'26 season, the Wagner girls basketball team received a timely gift from San Antonio guard, Devin Vassell.
Just in time for the start of their '25-'26 season, the Wagner girls basketball team received a timely gift from San Antonio guard, Devin Vassell. / San Antonio Spurs/Facebook

An unexpected gift at an unexpected time. That’s the key to unlocking someone's heart. Apparently, it’s also the way to someone’s feet. 

On Monday, San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell made a surprise visit to the boys and girls basketball teams at Karen Wagner High School in San Antonio, Texas. With a full classroom of hyped-up hoopers, Vassell proudly let the students in on a little secret. 

Thanks to a generous assist from Spurs Give, the charitable organization of the San Antonio Spurs, the NBA star came bearing gifts: brand new Nike basketball shoes for each player to tip-off their upcoming high school basketball seasons. 

It's Gotta Be The Shoes, Money!

This is the second time Devin Vassell has stepped into the home of the Thunderbirds to give back to the local community in San Antonio. This past August, Vassell held a free basketball camp at the high school for students from kindergarten all the way up to 12 grade. 

Obtaining some skills and going through drills and techniques from an NBA player and now new basketball shoes?

Hopefully these facets will carry over to the hardwood at Karen Walker this season, where the girls basketball team aims to bounce back after falling to Denton Ryan, 58-47, in the 2024 UIL Class 5A Texas Girls Basketball State Championship game while the boys fell in a heartbreaker to Glenn High School, 61-60, in the first round of last season's UIL Class 5A Texas Boys Basketball State Championships.

Big Season Ahead In San Antonio

That was then. These new Thunderbirds are what's now. With the Spurs and Vassell set to start the 2025-2026 NBA season on Wednesday in Dallas, Wagner officially begins their respective seasons when girls basketball faces McCollum on November 4 and boys basketball goes up against Fort Marshall on November 15. Keep an eye out for these two squads from San Antonio. They won’t be hard to find.

The school issued thank you to the Spurs in an Instagram post (see below), which read in part:

"A Massive THANK YOU to the San Antonio Spurs! We’re beyond grateful for your incredible generosity and support of our Wagner High School Thunderbirds!

"Because of you, our Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams are stepping into the season with confidence, pride, and fresh new kicks!"

Just look for the teams with new black team basketball shoes courtesy of the San Antonio Spurs. 

Published
Wendell Maxey
WENDELL MAXEY

Wendell Maxey has worked as a featured sports writer since 2004 with his stories and interviews on professional, college, and high school sports appearing on ESPN.com, NBA.com, SLAM Magazine/SLAMOnline, FoxSports.com, and USA Today, among other national newspapers and publications. Along with covering the NBA (Knicks, Nets, Blazers), Maxey spent four years as an international writer in Europe, scouted and recruited professional basketball players for Nürnberg Falcons/ Nürnberger BC, and also gained experience coaching high school and middle school basketball in Germany, and the United States. A published author, Maxey’s work has been featured in four books with his latest contribution included in the 2025 release of Rise & Reign: The Story of the Champion Boston Celtics. In 2025, Wendell joined High School On SI to provide national coverage as a contributing writer.

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