Gregg Popovich gets on mic as Spurs fans boo Kawhi Leonard

SAN ANTONIO — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich grabbed the AP announcer’s microphone during Wednesday night’s game against the LA Clippers and asked home fans to stop booing while the former Spurs player Spurs, Kawhi Leonard, shot two free throws.

Leonard stepped to the line with 3:06 left in the second quarter. As the crowd began booing during Leonard’s first free throw, Popovich briefly spoke to crew chief Tyler Ford before heading to the scorer’s table.

“Excuse me for a second,” Popovich told the crowd. “Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? Have some class. That’s not who we are. Stop the booing.”

Asked about the postgame moment, Popovich said his message was not wanting the fans to give Leonard any extra motivation.

“I think anyone who knows anything about sports doesn’t poke the bear,” Popovich said.

Popovich returned to the “don’t poke the bear” comment several times when answering follow-up questions.

Leonard, who scored 18 of his 26 points after Popovich addressed the crowd, said he wasn’t fully aware of what happened at that moment until he spoke with people afterward. the game.

“I was just trying to knock down my free throws,” he said.

After Popovich’s announcement, the boos grew louder and louder at the Frost Bank Center. The boos came not only for Leonard when he touched the ball, but for everyone else on the Clippers, especially when James Harden made his way to the free throw line.

The Clippers won 109-102 for their seventh consecutive victory against the Spurs.

Since Leonard was traded by the Spurs in 2018, he was regularly booed whenever he returned to San Antonio, a common fan practice towards players who left franchises on bad terms.

The Clippers beat the Spurs on Monday night, and the boos were the same for Leonard throughout the game.

Leonard said he understands the kind of reaction he would receive every time he returns to San Antonio.

“If I don’t wear a Spurs jersey, they’ll probably boo me for the rest of my career,” Leonard said. “But I mean, it is what it is. Like I said, they’re one of the best fans in the league and they’re very competitive. Once I step out on that basketball court- ball, they show that they are going for the other side.

“When I’m on the street or I go to a restaurant, they show me love. That’s how it is.”