Austin Spurs Correspondent Nicholas Kingman Explains Why G League Coverage Matters

SAN ANTONIO — There is a different energy in San Antonio that very few cities in the state, or the rest of the country, can replicate. Especially during playoff season.

People flood the streets decked in Spurs regalia, coming from either their homes or bustling downtown bars. Hooligans hang out of large automobiles. Horns of all kinds echo through the streets of Commerce. Down on Military, where the real party resides, fireworks and the smell of burnt tires pervade the cool spring air.

San Antonio’s passion for its only professional sports team was on full display before the nation this April, May and June. It was truly special for me to witness it once again.

Those in a certain age demographic remember when newspapers used to have someone consistently write about development or alternative leagues. Over the past 20 years, coverage has dried up worse than the water levels at Canyon Lake.

For as long as I’ve been doing this, I’ve been a minor-league bandit sitting alone in empty press rows, clacking away at my computer in silence on the receiving end of shocked looks from coaches and athletes, when they're told they have to go out for a media interview.

Some have called me the sickest sportswriter in all of Central Texas. Because who in their right mind would travel for a San Antonio Brahmas game in St. Louis? Who would crunch out an article about the Round Rock Express in a La Quinta parking lot after they turned off the press box lights? Who would hit a morning G League game in the middle of the week?

These coaches and athletes deserve to have their stories told and their on-court exploits documented with the same respect as their compatriots at the highest level. There's no shortage of talent to witness, and an abundance of compelling, human stories to share.

Nicholas Kingman will join San Antonio Spurs On SI this season to cover the team's G League Affiliate Austin Spurs.

Speaking of that G League game in February, my ears were numbed by 5,000 schoolchildren in the early stages of the best sugar rush a 10:30 a.m. soda can offer. Sullen eyes were overshadowed as the game produced a story that made it all worth it.

Former Austin Spur Stanley Umude, a graduate of Warren High School, put together one of his best performances of the season in his hometown NBA arena. The guard paced Austin with 25 points, earning Player of the Game honors as Austin beat the Texas Legends 104-95.

It was a pleasure to hear from Umude in the press room at Frost Bank Center about what it meant to him to have a performance like that in his hometown, as well as the emotions of becoming the fifth local player to suit up for the NBA franchise just days earlier.

“If somebody told me in middle school or elementary school that I was going to be playing in front of my hometown, I probably would have believed them,” Umude told me that day. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. A lot of people don’t get this opportunity, so (my) emotions are all over the place.”

Players like Umude and Jayden Nunn, the former Baylor Bear who cracked Austin’s roster after a local tryout last season, remind me that sports go beyond the box score.

They deserve a voice as they fight to make their dream of playing at the highest level a reality.

Sometimes it takes a father's dying wish to drive those dreams from the figment of a son's mind into reality. David Jones Garcia, fueled by his father's death, took the risk of passing up a better-paying contract overseas to make the NBA on a two-way contract.

Many of these G League players once dazzled a nation of basketball fiends during March Madness, so why should their story stop at the end of the tournament? My goal is to give Spurs Nation a direct vein to a part of the organization that is often overlooked.

With the San Antonio Spurs back near the top of the basketball world, this becomes the most important G League season for the organization in many years. The team just drafted four rookies; all of them will likely spend time at H-E-B Center as their NBA journeys begin.

How is 19-year-old Jayden Quaintance recovering from his injury? What will seasoned center Tarris Reed Jr. work on when he comes to the capital city? Can second-round picks Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown grow to be contributors at the next level?

I’ll be there answering all these questions and more. I hope you join me for the ride.

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