The singer/songwriter performed the national anthem as the San Antonio Spurs & New York Knicks begin their battle for the NBA championship.
Tori Kelly sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 2026 NBA Finals game 1 on Wednesday, June 3, in San Antonio, Texas.
NBA/YouTube
As the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks began their quest for the 2026 NBA championship on Wednesday (June 3), Tori Kelly set the tone with her pitch-perfect rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Kelly was the first national anthem singer for the 2026 NBA Finals, which started Wednesday night with game 1 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center. With a statue of the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the court behind her, Kelly performed a restrained, technically immaculate version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” wearing a cream collared jacket with brown-striped sleeves paired with chocolate-brown drawstring leather pants. She mostly stuck to the melody we know so well, making minor changes that packed a major punch, including modulating her final high note on “free” seamlessly into the “and the home of the brave” finale.
