The sequel to Grumpy Old Man was a little predictable.
After Spurs coach Gregg Popovich lectured the San Antonio crowd about booing Kawhi Leonard, he dismissed reporters asking about the unusual incident.
“You don’t poke the bear,” Popovich said.
That’s basically the only explanation the legendary coach was willing to offer as he shut down multiple attempts at follow-up questions.
“I just told you why I did it. I spoke English. I just told you,” an animated Popovich said after the Spurs lost to the Clippers, 109-102.
“Anybody that knows anything about sports know that you don’t poke the bear. That’s my answer.”
Be that as it may, basketball has been played a long time and it is extremely rare for a coach to chide his own fans for booing an opposing player.
Leonard spent seven years with the Spurs and was a part of the 2014 championship team.
He earned the animus of the Spurs faithful, though, after he forced a trade away from the franchise in 2018 following a lengthy and tense dispute over the handling of a quad injury.
Interestingly, Popovich questioned Leonard’s leadership abilities after he was shipped to the Raptors.
“Kawhi was a great player, but he wasn’t a leader,” Popovich said at the time, according to SB Nation, in a comment that may have poked Leonard.
“Manu (Ginobili) and Patty (Mills) were the leaders. Kawhi’s talent will always be missed, but leadership wasn’t his deal at the time. That may come as progresses. Patty and Manu filled that role for us last year. LaMarcus Aldridge came a long way as a leader also.”
Time has appeared to chill any frost between the two, though.
On Wednesday night, Leonard scored 26 points in leading the Clippers past the rebuilding Spurs.
With the Spurs trailing 48-39 in the second quarter, Leonard was on the free throw line and Popovich grabbed the mic in between his two attempts.
“Excuse me for a second,” the 74-year-old said. “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.”
The fans responded … by booing more.
Reporters made further efforts to get an explanation from the coach and were shut down again.
“That’s all I need to say. You want me to make up a different answer,” Popovich said. “There is no other questions that need to be asked… You know exactly what I mean: You don’t poke the bear.”