MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT WITH THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS
DR. SCHMIDT’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Dr. Schmidt officially became the San Antonio Spurs head physician in 1993. But, he had some involvement with the organization long before that. He had been with his partner at the time, Jack Henry, since 1986. Henry was with the team for 17 years before passing it along to Dr. Schmidt. He has now been with the Spurs for 29 years, 25 of those years being when this organization was the best professional sports franchise in America. Over the course of his time with the Spurs, his most memorable moment was witnessing the NBA Championship of 1999. Dr. Schmidt was front and center, on the floor in Madison Square Garden as the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in game 5 of the series. This was the first title in franchise history for the Spurs. This is a memory he will always remember.
DR. SAENZ’ MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
When the previous team of physicians decided to hang it up, Dr. Schmidt introduced the idea of bringing a new breed of physician into the organization. He proposed bringing in a sports medicine team of physicians, rather than the basic team of physicians. This is when he contacted his partner Dr. Saenz and explained that the team was really thinking about moving in this direction. Being offered this position was a dream come true for Dr. Sanez. He knew that this was a big responsibility and a 24/7/365 job, but immediately accepted the position. Dr. Sanez became the team physician for the Spurs in the 1998-99 season. This of course was the year that the San Antonio Spurs won their first ever NBA Championship. Being apart of all the post-game celebrations in New York was as incredible experience. Then of course the best was coming back home to all the fans at the airport and being apart of the championship river parade downtown San Antonio. Over the course of his 24 years with the organization, there have been so many memories and so many occasions that it is hard to choose just one, but this is one that will stick with him forever.
DR. YOUNG’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Dr. Young has been involved with different San Antonio sports teams for a long time. More recently, he became a team physician for the San Antonio Spurs. One of his greatest experiences with the Spurs was actually during the pandemic year, in the bubble in Orlando. This was a unique experience because unlike any other season, the entire league played in one place. Due to COVID-19, they were required to be in a contained environment. Dr. Young and the rest of the team got to work side by side with other teams and their physicians, which is not something that they usually get to do in a regular season. It was definitely a unique, once in a lifetime experience.