The San Antonio Spurs are hosting the Los Angeles Clippers in one of the few games a year where Kawhi Leonard has to face the fanbase that saw him grow from a mid-first-round pick to a Finals MVP and DPOY candidate. His departure was very acrimonious, which means Spurs fans were booing him while he was shooting free throws, Gregg Popovich was having none of that, taking a mic to admonish the fans for booing Kawhi.
“Excuse me for a second. Can we stop the booing and let these guys play? That’s not who we are, you don’t have to boo him.”
LMFAOOO pic.twitter.com/xqpOjLxrXJ
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) November 23, 2023
Unfortunately, Pop angered the fans even more, who started booing the head coach that brought them five championships along with Leonard. Telling grown adults not to boo players at a live sports game they’ve paid good money to come and see is insane. Even if Popovich doesn’t enjoy it, he has got to know it’s just a part of live sports.
Spurs fans have legitimate reasons for disliking Kawhi, and if they want to express their feelings through booing, that’s fine. Vince Carter was a Raptors legend but didn’t get cheered in their home arena till very late in his career, over a decade after he initially left the franchise.
Why Do Spurs Fans Hate Kawhi Leonard?
Kawhi Leonard suffered a serious quadriceps injury in the 2017 offseason, prompting him to miss a huge chunk of the season. Even when he returned to the court, Leonard looked stiff and complained, getting sent back to the injury list. Leonard would refuse to listen to the advice of the Spurs’ team doctors and would put a team around him to take full control of his health.
Leonard also refused to play through the injury, prompting a lot of the locker room to turn against him, specifically Tony Parker. The reaction that the Spurs had to Kawhi trying to deal with an injury was shocking, as players isolated him while the coaches started to dislike him. With his refusal to play and the Spurs still being a competitive squad, the Spurs traded him to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick.
Kawhi could still dominate on the court, leading the Raptors to a miracle title win as the undisputed No. 1 option on that team. He would leave Toronto for the Clippers and is in his fifth season with the franchise. Unfortunately, he’s been plagued by injuries and has been unable to contribute at a high level, especially in the playoffs. He threw shade at the Spurs last offseason while discussing how well his torn ACL was dealt by the Clippers.
“It is just a different situation. You know from me getting traded from one team to another and how that rehab process went for me. So, it’s been very different this time going through that. You know having the team behind my back. Moving forward, they want what’s best for me.”
The Spurs fanbase is full of extremely proud people who will not forget how Leonard treated them. They have every right to boo a former Finals MVP from their franchise, so even if you don’t agree with it, getting on a microphone and asking for less booing isn’t right, either.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
