With a thrilling 2026 NBA Finals run in the rearview mirror, San Antonio Spurs officials revealed Monday that the franchise’s Silver Dancers will return next season following a seven-year hiatus.
The all-women dance group will join the coed Spurs Hype Squad as part of a plan to elevate the game-day experience for fans, according to the team. Franchise officials also said they want to amp up the arena experience in the wake of 2026’s winning season.
The Silver Dancers’ return also may signal a larger cultural shift from the post-#MeToo era, when speculation swirled that societal pressures led the team to disband the dance group in 2018. Indeed, Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) was the first NBA franchise to disband its traditional, all-women squad, swapping in the Hype Squad.
SS&E officials said they now see both groups as an important part of the fan experience.
“The Silver Dancers and Hype Squad each bring their own energy, skill set and connection to our fans,” Spurs Vice President of Marketing Jordan Mandelkorn said in a statement.
In the late 2010s, many pro-sports organizations underwent a massive shift in workplace standards as momentum built around #MeToo. Over a 14-month period, eight of the NBA’s 30 teams replaced their all-woman dance teams with coed groups, according to a Time magazine report.
While SS&E attributed its 2018 decision to sideline the Silver Dancers to a lack of fan interest, observers at the time told British news outlet the Guardian that the franchise was reacting to broader cultural shift in sports.
The Spurs’ elimination of the dance squad that entertained at games for 26 years split the team’s passionate fan base, according to news reports at the time. In online chatter, many urged the Spurs to bring back Silver Dancers, arguing officials had erased a central piece of franchise identity.
Since then, the Spurs Hype Squad has shifted baseline entertainment at the Frost Bank Center away from choreography toward high-flying athleticism. The squad prioritizes family-friendly entertainment through breakdance routines and dynamic stunts.
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