Watch: NBA Superstar Mercilessly Called 'Traitor' by His Ex-Team's Fans

By Ross Kelly January 4, 2019 at 11:29am

Kawhi Leonard was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a Finals MVP while helping the San Antonio Spurs win their fifth NBA title.

But after last year’s drama-filled season and his subsequent trade to the Toronto Raptors, Leonard became Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Spurs fans — and they weren’t shy about letting him know that.

Leonard played in his first game in San Antonio as a visiting player on Thursday and was booed during pregame, during player introductions and every time he touched the ball.

The vitriol reached its peak during the second quarter when Leonard went to the free throw line. The normally polite San Antonio crowd chanted “Traitor, traitor” at the guy who once seemed destined to have a statue erected in his honor outside the arena.

Spurs fans start “traitor” chant while Kawhi shoots FT’s ? pic.twitter.com/NTy0zh9ry8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 4, 2019

It certainly didn’t help Leonard that there seemed to be some confusion among the referees right before the free throws, which led to a delay. That just gave the fans more time to heckle Leonard, who made the first free throw but missed the second.

Leonard had a nice game with 21 points, but that was less than half of the career-high 45 points he scored in his most recent game, a New Year’s Day victory over Utah, and the Raptors fell to the Spurs 125-107.

After the game ended, Leonard embraced many of his former teammates and had a long hug and conversation with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, which was likely a surprise to many.

Nothing but respect between Kawhi and Gregg Popovich. pic.twitter.com/tbiSvAtn39

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 4, 2019

In a postgame interview, Leonard said he wasn’t surprised by the reaction from the crowd and put the blame on the media for influencing the fans.

“Probably,” he said, when asked if he expected to be booed. “But I embraced it and enjoyed the moment, and it’s only going to make me better.

Did Spurs fans cross the line by shouting "traitor" at Kawhi Leonard?

“(The) media does a great job to stir people’s minds and influence them to think a certain way. So I already knew how that was going to be, the way the media was.”

While Leonard says he embraced the boos from the fans, his mother, Kim Leonard, clearly did not.

She was sitting near the court and went back at one fan in particular who was heckling either her or her son.

Kawhi Leonard’s mom was NOT having the Spurs fans booing him tonight

(via @DavidShitler) pic.twitter.com/Qdy8Yh5TlE

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 4, 2019

This game was also a “revenge” game for DeMar DeRozan, the other big piece in last summer’s trade.

DeRozan was the best player on the court last night as he had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the 714th NBA game of DeRozan’s career, but it was the first in which he had a triple-double.

DeMar DeRozan is the 5th player in NBA history with a triple-double in his first game against a former team.

He’s the 2nd player with a 20-point triple-double in his first game against a former team, joining Guy Rodgers in 1966. H/T @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/8TpD3o3X0s

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 4, 2019

DeRozan will get his Toronto homecoming when the Spurs and Raptors play again on Feb. 22. There will likely be a much different reaction for him in his return as DeRozan never wanted to leave Toronto and described the trade as being ditched at the altar.

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