Kawhi Leonard returned to San Antonio last night for the first time since his awkward departure this offseason. The fans, still salty from the breakup, let out boos during his lineup announcement and chanted “traitor” as he shot his first free throws of the night.
Spurs fans, who have existed on a moral high ground since the 1990s, booed their homegrown two-time All Star and 2014 Finals MVP, who rose from potential defensive specialist to top-five player.
The Spurs ended up beating the Kyle Lowry-less Raptors, 125-107, with DeMar DeRozan leading the charge -- he got his first career triple-double against his former team.
Gregg Popovich gave Leonard a nice hug after the final buzzer and, after three minutes of fielding banal questions during the postgame interview, said he felt badly about the boos for Kawhi, who is “a high character guy” and has the “same right to make life decisions as any of us.”
[READ: A complete timeline of how the relationship between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs fell apart]
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