Wednesday’s game between the San Antonio Spurs featured perhaps the most bizarre moment of the regular season thus far, as Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich grabbed the arena microphone to tell Spurs fans to stop booing Kawhi Leonard in the middle of the game. And he doubled down on his decision after the game.
The incident occurred in between free throws from Leonard where the Spurs fans began to let Leonard hear a chorus of boos.
“Excuse me for a second,” said Popovich. “Stop all the booing and let these guys play. It’s got no class, it’s not who we are. Knock off the booing.”
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
It was an incident that has gone viral on social media. So it should come as no surprise that Popovich was asked about the incident shortly after the game by reporters.
He doubled down on his decision to grab the mic and scold the Spurs fans, stating that they “shouldn’t have poked the bear”.
“Anybody that knows anything about sports. You don’t poke the bear.”
Popovich was then asked to expand on the situation. And he began to get pretty blunt with the reporter asking the questions.
“I just told you why I did it. I spoke English, I just told you. Anybody that knows anything about sports knows that you do not poke the bear. That’s my answer.”
https://twitter.com/BallySportsSA/status/1727532839422337515
Popovich has always been known to be a bit cold to reporters. But it is a bit ridiculous for him to be so offended by the question considering it’s a pretty unprecedented situation for a coach to be grabbing the arena microphone in the middle of a game.
The Spurs went on to lose the game 109-102 to the Clippers, their tenth straight loss to fall to 3-12 on the year. This entire situation could be fueled by the frustrations of the Spurs’ struggles lately.
Considering their struggles on the year, you certainly have to question how long Popovich will remain coaching this Spurs team if their poor season continues.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.