Prince Harry: NBA Finals: Prince Harry makes surprise appearance at the game as royal family marks Trooping the Colour without him and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks on Saturday June 13. The Duke of Sussex, 41, was seen on video arriving at the Frost Bank Center wearing a polo shirt and baseball cap, accompanied by JP Lane.According to PEOPLE, Lane is a US Army veteran who has competed in the Purple Heart Warrior Games, an adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill and injured service members in the US. He is set to compete in Harry’s Invictus Games in the UK next year, and Harry has previously credited Lane with inspiring him to create Invictus for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel from around the world. A source told the outlet that Harry was already in San Antonio for the Warrior Games, scheduled to run from June 13 to 20 in the city, and was invited to attend Game 5 by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Harry’s appearance comes amid Trooping the Colour in London
Harry’s presence at the basketball game came on the same day the royal family took part in the annual Trooping the Colour, King Charles’ birthday parade, in London. The King, 77, was joined by Queen Camilla, Prince William, who rode horseback in the parade, as well as Kate Middleton and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as they watched the Royal Air Force perform a ceremonial flypast. Harry, who relocated to California with wife Meghan Markle in 2020, was not expected to attend the London event.
Harry’s history with basketball and the Spurs
The Duke of Sussex, a lifelong sports fan, has attended NBA games before. In February, he and Meghan, 44, were spotted sitting next to Queen Latifah at the 75th NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California.While Harry has not shared who he is rooting for in this series, he has previously worked with Spurs legend David Robinson. Robinson joined Harry and Meghan in 2018 for a graduation and awards ceremony hosted at Loughborough University by Coach Core, one of the Royal Foundation’s programmes, where the pair went head to head in a game of netball before presenting awards, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Harry has also made appearances at other major sporting events since relocating to the US, including the Super Bowl alongside his cousin Princess Eugenie in 2022, the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles with Meghan, and the Stockyards Championship Rodeo in Texas in 2022.
What’s at stake in Game 5
The Knicks are aiming to win the NBA championship for the first time in 53 years. Leading the series 3-1 against the Spurs, the Knicks won on Wednesday June 10 in dramatic fashion, with an OG Anunoby tip-in at the buzzer sealing a comeback from 29 points behind.
A number of other celebrity basketball fans were also in San Antonio for Game 5, including Tracy Morgan, John Turturro and Sydney Sweeney, all hoping to witness a piece of history at the Frost Bank Center.Only one team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals, the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, as the Spurs look to extend the series and force a potential Game 6 in New York City on Tuesday June 16.
