SAN ANTONIO – With three minutes left in the first half, San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich was fed up.
The fans at the Frost Bank Center were booing former Spur Kawhi Leonard, every time he touched the ball.
Coach Pop took the public address announcer’s microphone and told the fans, “Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? It’s got no class, it’s not who we are. Knock off the booing!”
Gregg Popovich grabbed the PA mic while Kawhi Leonard was shooting FTs and asked the San Antonio faithful to stop booing.
— Mary Rominger (@KSATMaryRom) November 23, 2023
Kawhi, who was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Spurs and extend their title-winning ways, was traded from San Antonio a little over 5 years ago. pic.twitter.com/WM8CSljxav
The Spurs fans responded by booing Popovich and booing louder every time Leonard touched the ball for the rest of the game.
Leonard would go on to score a game-high 26 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Spurs 109-102, handing the Spurs their 10th straight loss.
When asked why he decided to grab the microphone and make that statement, Popovich said:
“Well, I think anybody that knows anything about sports, you don’t poke the bear.”
When asked to elaborate, he said:
“I just told you why I did it...I spoke English. I just told you anybody that knows anything about sports knows you don’t poke the bear, that’s my answer.”
After taking ahold of the mic mid game to tell the San Antonio faithful to stop booing Kawhi Leonard, #Spurs HC Gregg Popovich addresses the media and shares his thoughts behind the decision... pic.twitter.com/Oyr47g6Bcl
— Mary Rominger (@KSATMaryRom) November 23, 2023
Jeremy Sochan came into the press conference room after Coach Pop and defended him, by saying:
“I think it’s the right thing to do. Again you know you don’t know what’s going on in Kawhi’s head, you know he’s done so much for this organization. There’s no need to disrespect him like that and I guess you know it’s part of the game, but at the same time he’s a human too, so at the end of the day, I respect what Coach Pop did,” Sochan said.
The Spurs will head to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, looking to snap their 10-game losing streak.