The superfans known as the 'Spurs Nuns' aiming to bring divine intervention to the NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama stepped off the court for a moment before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, accepted greetings from a handful of well-wishers in San Antonio Spurs jerseys, then bowed his head to join them in a quick prayer.

They're the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco.

On game nights, they're called the Spurs Nuns.

New York has Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan among its superfans; San Antonio has a group of nuns who wear Spurs jerseys over their habits. It's a relationship that goes back at least 20 years or so, and to the sisters it makes perfect sense.

“We’re serving the poor and the young," said Sr. Bernadette Mota, the director of the department of mission advancement for the Salesian Sisters. "And in order to reach the young where they’re at, you have to love what they love and then they’ll love who you love. So, we have that affinity with the Spurs because it gives us an avenue to do our mission with the young people that we serve.”

This tale started in a most unique way.

As the story goes, a couple decades ago, some of the retired sisters — who happened to be native Texans and big Spurs fans — would watch the games on television or listen on the radio, some even doing so while hospitalized. They would cheer for all the players, and for coach Gregg Popovich. But Popovich would sometimes seem a bit angry on the sidelines, prompting some of the sisters to reach out with letters.

“They would write to Coach Popovich and let him know when they thought he was he doing great and let him know when he lost his temper — but they were really supporting him," Mota said. "He's the one that actually responded back to them, thanking them for their support for him and for the Spurs. It was really just a very organic conversation that started all of this.”

Yes, it's true: The nuns would scold Pop for bad behavior.

“They would, in a nice way, in a very nice way," Mota said. “They’d be like, ‘Coach, you lost your temper there, come on, we’re praying for you, you can do better.’”

Popovich and the Spurs have kept a relationship with the sisters since. Popovich's late wife Erin, who died in 2018, also had close ties to the sisters and their work. It has been a mutually beneficial relationship; the Spurs love having the sisters at games, and the story of what the nuns do when they're not watching basketball has led to many people offering to help their mission.

“We’ve had a number of individual people reach out and they’ve been donating anywhere from $10 to $100 and we’ve had a few ones who have larger capacity reach out, too," Mota said. “All of this is divine providence, God’s gift, because we’re actually very much in need. Our mission, we rely on the generosity of people who are our partners and collaborators in our mission.”

The sisters aren't the only fan group that the Spurs have embraced. This season also brought the Jackals — a group that was envisioned by Wembanyama with hopes of simulating what happens in European soccer matches, with organized chants, drumming and the like throughout the game.

The nuns pray. The Jackals chant “Olé, Olé, Olé.”

Different approach, same intentions.

“I’ve known for years that the Spurs community had this strength in them,” Wembanyama said. “Now to finally see it being channeled into something organized and efficient and effective, it’s a great joy.”

Joy. That's the word the sisters use as well.

It was certainly noted by those around the Spurs that the sisters gave Luke Kornet a special blessing during the Western Conference finals and he came up with an incredible chasedown block midway through the fourth quarter of Game 7 in Oklahoma City, helping to ensure that San Antonio would win that game and earn this finals trip.

Divine intervention? Maybe.

It's also not lost on the sisters that Pope Leo XIV's prayer intention for June is on the value of sports and how they can promote peace and respect across the globe.

“I don’t know if his people who helped him out in terms of creating prayer intentions were also in tune with what’s going on with the sisters and the San Antonio Spurs," Mota said. "Maybe, maybe not. I have no idea. But I just thought it was pretty awesome that his prayer intention for June is for sports.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Nuns cheer before the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

The Salesian Sisters greet players prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The Salesian Sisters greet players prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The Salesian Sisters greet players prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The U.S. stock market had its worst day since October as a sell-off in big technology companies weighed down the broader market. Bond yields surged as a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year. The S&P 500 slumped 2.6% Friday, finishing with its first losing week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 1.4%. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.2%. Nvidia and Broadcom were among the heaviest weights on the market. The Labor Department reported that employers added 172,000 jobs in May, roughly double what forecasters had expected. Oil prices fell.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street headed for its worst day in nearly eight months Friday as big technology companies lost ground and a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year.

The S&P 500 was down 2.7% in late-afternoon trading, on pace for its first losing week in the last 10 and its biggest one-day drop since October, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported goods from China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 773 points, or 1.5%, as of 3:18 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite slumped 4.4%.

Tech stocks dragged the broader market lower as companies that had powered the S&P 500 to a series of records the past two months saw losses. Nvidia fell 6.3%, Broadcom dropped 7.6% and Micron Technology slid 12.7%.

Shares in Meta fell 6% following a published report that the social media giant may seek to do a new stock offering to raise funds for spending on AI infrastructure.

Stocks within the S&P 500 were close to evenly split between gainers and losers. But, many of the bigger tech stocks have pricey values that tend to have an outsized influence on the broader market.

Meanwhile, bond yields jumped after a report showed the U.S. added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department. It is the latest report showing that employment remains solid, despite the squeeze inflation is putting on businesses and consumers.

The latest reading on employment comes two weeks before Kevin Warsh heads his first policy meeting as chair of the Fed. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates steady at the June 16-17 meeting despite pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs. Longer-term, the market sees a better than 60% chance the Fed will push rates higher by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch, and little to no chance of a cut.

“Any hopes of a Fed rate cut have effectively been eliminated with this morning’s strong jobs report,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, in a research note.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.50% just before the report was released. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which more closely tracks the Fed’s actions, jumped to 4.16% from 4.04% just prior to the report.

The Fed has been holding interest rates steady as it tries to gauge the ongoing impact from rising inflation. Prices were already ticking higher from the impact of tariffs. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to settle at $93.09. It was about $70 per barrel before the war. The surge in oil prices prompted a jump in gasoline prices. That has fueled a broader rise in inflation as prices for anything being shipped move higher and threaten to slow economic growth.

A measure of inflation preferred by the Fed showed that prices rose 3.8% overall in April. That marked the biggest increase in two years.

Wall Street has been anticipating that negotiations to end the war will eventually be successful. American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized.

The latest round of corporate earnings is coming to a close. Lululemon slumped 8.5% after trimming its revenue and profit forecasts.

Most reports from companies have been surprisingly good and helped Wall Street on its record run. Encouraging profits and forecasts helped overshadow lingering worries about the direction of the economy amid tariffs and high energy costs because of the U.S. war with Iran.

With earnings now in the background, analysts have been warning that the tech companies benefiting from interest in artificial intelligence may have become too expensive. That could result in a slowdown for a market that has surged in 2026, with the S&P 500 up 7.7% for the year.

Markets were mixed in Europe after markets in Asia fell.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

A trio of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A screen shows South Korean companies's stock prices related to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is scheduled to visit South Korea at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)