Kawhi Leonard and Paul George Got Booed by Fans in LA
It’s still a Lakers town
Here is a list of cities where I would expect Kawhi Leonard to get booed: Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Oklahoma and maybe Miami. But in Los Angeles? His hometown and the city where he made a big splash by signing as a free agent this summer? No way.
Except, it happened. Kawhi was shown on the big screen at the Rams-Buccaneers game at the Coliseum and was greeted with a smattering of boos.
To be fair, it isn’t like all 68,000 people were showering Leonard with abuse. But they certainly weren’t all cheering him either.
And Kawhi wasn’t the only Clippers player to get a rude welcome at a Los Angeles sporting event this weekend. Saturday night at a Bellator MMA event at The Forum in Inglewood, Paul George was greeted less than warmly. It doesn’t look like there’s video but everyone in attendance confirmed it happened, just like when George played against the Lakers in January.
It just goes to show you what the Clippers will have to overcome in order to become even half as popular as the Lakers in Los Angeles. This is a franchise that has never been to a conference final, even dating back to its days at the Buffalo Braves. Had PG or Kawhi signed with the Lakers in July, the reception at those events this weekend would have been rapturous. Instead, you get reminded that the prevailing reaction to your team is antipathy.
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