The San Antonio Spurs contested against the Los Angeles Clippers on the 22nd of November in the NBA. As usual, Kawhi Leonard one of their former players was the talk of the town in that game. He was booed heavily by the home fans on his each and every touch.
Boos began to flood in while Kawhi Leonard stood at the line for the free throws. However, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich took a microphone and asked supporters to cease the gesture when replacements were made.“Excuse me for a second,” Coach Pop started. “Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? It’s got no class. That’s not who we are. Knock off the booing,” said Coach Popovich.
Wow. #Spurs HC Gregg Popovich just grabbed the arena microphone with Kawhi Leonard at the free throw line, and asked the crowd to stop booing.
Fans have been booing Leonard, who asked to be traded from San Antonio, on every touch.
Not sure I’ve seen that in an NBA game. pic.twitter.com/PHk3yD2IHG
— Nate Ryan (@nateryansports) November 23, 2023
Spurs fans were left in dismay by their own coach’s behavior as they did not expect this from him. Many fans took to X(formerly Twitter) to put forward their views on the coach’s gesture on the court. One furious fan wrote, “It Might Be Time for Pop to Retire”.
It remains to be seen how Coach Pop responds to these furious Spurs fans. There will surely be a damming answer from the Coach as he might have his own reason to do so. He has been one of the most loyal servants for the San Antonio Spurs and also holds a lot of respect in the NBA.
Kawhi Leonard’s trade request infuriated Spurs fans in 2018
Kawhi Leonard was the San Antonio Spurs’ best player in the period from 2014 to 2018. Fans loved him and never wanted him to leave them. But that was not the case for Kawhi, he had different plans as he was homesick and wanted to move near his hometown.
This decision taken by Kawhi in 2018 left the Spurs fans furious as they could not imagine him playing for another team ever in the NBA. Once more, he was their “Chosen One,” the player they would turn to in order to guide the Spurs when Tim Duncan left.
Damn. Kinda sad to hear Kawhi Leonard wants to leave the Spurs. Feels like the end of an era for the ultimate model sports franchise.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 15, 2018
Eventually, Kawhi got traded to the Toronto Raptors for the 2018-19 season and further on. Spurs fans were left devasted and what hurt them even more was he went on and won the Raptors the NBA title in that following season.
This relationship between Kawhi and the San Antonio Spurs will always be talked about for years to come. Also, regarding how he changed his career back in 2018 when many people thought he was finished due to injuries. This decision will surely go down as one of the best ones made by Kawhi.