San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said he feels bad Kawhi Leonard was booed during his return to the AT&T Center.
Leonard returned to San Antonio for the first time since he was traded to the Toronto Raptors in the off-season and the NBA All-Star did not receive a warm welcome.
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The 27-year-old was booed by Spurs fans throughout San Antonio's 125-107 victory over Toronto on Thursday, and they chanted "traitor" while he was shooting a free throw.
Popovich – who spoke with Leonard following the game – told reporters: "Kawhi is a high-character guy.
"We all make decisions in our lives, what we are going to do with our futures, and he has that same right as any of us. So, I felt badly, honestly."
Welcome back to San Antonio, Danny and Kawhi!
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 4, 2019
#SpursFamily pic.twitter.com/O3D3Lr4m5p
Leonard was limited to just nine games with the Spurs in 2017-18 and reportedly asked to be moved because he was unhappy with the way the team handled his rehab from a right quad injury.
He and Danny Green were then dealt from the Spurs to the Raptors for a package centred around DeMar DeRozan in mid-July.
DeRozan tallied his first career triple-double for San Antonio against Toronto on Thursday.
The win moved the Spurs to 22-17 this season, while the Raptors fell to 28-12.
