Bat Spooks Players During NBA Game, Mascot Saves The Day By Catching It In Net

The San Antonio Spurs mascot, The Coyote, made a dramatic capture of a bat that disrupted Saturday night’s game between the Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Associated Press reported.

The bat caused a nuisance from the beginning of the game at the Frost Bank Center just after Victor Wembanyama buried a 3-pointer two minutes into the first quarter, AP reported.

The Coyote, who had two bagged bats to his credit before Saturday night, was able to capture the winged intruder with a large net after chasing it around the court to the amusement of Wembanyama and his teammate, Jeremy Sochan, according to AP. (RELATED: College Basketball Game Gets A Wild Delay After Bats Invade And Start Attacking Players)

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SO APPARENTLY bats just consistently make their way into Spurs games and the mascot has a Batman costume FOR THIS REASON I love basketball https://t.co/YfHn7bMXR7

— cowboy parmesan (@corgipasta) January 28, 2024

Although most of the Spurs ran for cover each time the bat descended, Sochan bravely held his ground before head coach, Gregg Popovich pulled him back, the outlet reported.

“Got him! Got him!” Timberwolves broadcaster Michael Grady excitedly announced after The Coyote netted the bat.

In a famous bat incident from 2009, former Spurs star Manu Ginobili barehand slapped another winged creature to the floor, according to AP.

Current Spurs players were not as brave, many trying to hide as the bat flew around the court, AP reported.

“I know my lane,” Spurs guard Keldon Johnson said. “Like, I’m borderline scared of the dark … so, the bat? That’s something like, nah that ain’t really up my alley. I was more scared.”

The winged intruders not only stopped play during the famous Ginobili incident but also delayed one Spurs game in 2011 and three in 2019, The Athletic reported.

FiveThirtyEight investigated the roots of bat incidents at Frost Bank Center, determining that the arena is “25 miles southwest of Bracken Cave, which is home to more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats, making it the largest summer bat colony in the world.”

After the bat was captured Saturday night, Wembanyama scored nine points in the next two minutes, finishing the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Spurs 113-112 victory, AP reported.