- Kawhi Leonard played seven seasons under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs
- And the coach did not like to see his ex-player booed on Wednesday evening
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Gregg Popovich went to unusual lengths to protect his ex-player Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday night, grabbing the arena microphone and urging Spurs fans to stop booing him.
Leonard, who started his career in San Antonio and won the 2014 Finals MVP with the team, was shooting free throws in the second quarter when fans at the Frost Bank Center began booing him.
And Popovich decided to take matters into his own hands.
“Excuse me for a moment,” he said with Leonard on the phone. “Can we stop all the cheering and let these guys play? It has no class, it’s not who we are. Stop the booing.
However, fans continued to boo Leonard after Popovich’s pleas.
Gregg Popovich took the microphone on Wednesday night and told the Spurs fans to stop booing
Kawhi Leonard played seven seasons under Popovich and won one championship
After the match, Popovich explained why he took the microphone to deliver his message to the fans.
“Anyone who knows anything about sports, don’t poke the bear,” he said.
Leonard spent the first seven years of his career in San Antonio and rose to stardom there.
However, things ended on a sour note when he ultimately demanded a trade, which was granted when he was dealt to the Raptors in 2018.
He won the second championship of his career with Toronto in his only season there.
On Wednesday, his Clippers defeated the Spurs 109-102.
He finished the game with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama scored 22 points and 15 boards.