Basketball coach Popovich urges his own fans to issue orders: “Show some courtesy, stop cheering.”

A coach taking the microphone and calling the audience to line up. NBA club San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did this last night to defend former Spurs player Kawhi Leonard. “Show some kindness, stop booing.”

Leonard played for the Los Angeles Clippers against San Antonio. Since leaving the Spurs to join the Toronto Raptors in 2018, Leonard has been snubbed every time he returns to the Texas city to play a game.

“This is not who we are.”

This time Popovich was bored. Just before the end of the first half, he removed the microphone from the game speaker and gave a stern speech to the crowd at Forest Bank Center. At that moment, Leonard was at the free throw line.

Popovic: “Can I ask for your attention for a minute?” asked. “Can we all stop booing and let these guys play basketball? This is not us. Stop doing that.”

Popovich has coached San Antonio since 1996 and won five NBA championships with the Spurs; one of them (2014) was when he was on Leonard’s team. Leonard won another championship with Toronto in 2019 and is currently in his third season with the Clippers.

Trump rivals

Popovich, now 74, is known for not hiding his opinions. The basketball coach is a fierce opponent of former American President Donald Trump and has publicly criticized gun ownership in the United States on numerous occasions.

But Popovich’s call didn’t quite work. The crowd was silent for a moment, then cheered even louder. But Leonard stood firm, making both free throws, and the Los Angeles Clippers ultimately won 109-102.

Thus, the Clippers handed Popovich’s team their twelfth defeat in fifteen games, despite the 22 points and 15 rebounds of the super talent Victor Wembanyama.

Leonard scored 26 points against his former team. “Anyone who knows sports knows: Don’t challenge the bear,” Popovich later said.

Source: NOS