You'd think after helping a team win their first NBA Championship title, being named Finals MVP in the process, that fans would be pretty supportive. However, that doesn't seem to have been the case for Kawhi Leonard. As Kawhi made his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers, fans could be heard booing the Klaw all night long. It doesn't look like Kawhi let the negativity get to him, as he hit 30 points of his team's 112, with six rebounds and five assists. That decisive contribution saw the Clippers beat their LA rivals the Lakers in the season opener. Though Kawhi managed to remind people why he is such a standout talent in the NBA, Lakers fans were certainly not happy to see him. It all started even before Kawhi arrived on the court at Staples Center — which, it's worth noting, the Clippers share with the Lakers, therefore making any "home advantage" rather more subjective. Fans were booing the champ as he appeared on the screen and when he was introduced to the crowd. Just last week, Kawhi had a strikingly different experience as he arrived back on Canadian soil for the first time since he left the Raptors. Canadians made sure to give Kawhi a warm welcome when the Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks played a preseason game in Vancouver. Fans outside of Staples Center boo Kawhi Leonard when he comes on screen before Lakers-Clippers game pic.twitter.com/u8IebO27Yc— The Render (@TheRenderNBA) October 23, 2019 Kawhi gets boo’ed by the home crowd on opening night. That what he gets for signing up to play for the JV team in LA✍🏻 pic.twitter.com/iWCnsX39L4— Hoop Fiends 🏀💉 (@hoopfiends) October 23, 2019 #Lakers fans greeted Kawhi Leonard with boos for his first home game. pic.twitter.com/5Yuw7uI5my— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) October 23, 2019 Substantial boos for Kawhi as he was introduced (he was later booed more as he addressed the crowd) pic.twitter.com/Nc5kwPyqGx— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) October 23, 2019 Kawhi Leonard showing no emotion while Lakers fans flat out boo him is just Peak Kawhi pic.twitter.com/YH6WfEFgna— NickMan 🐻⬇️🧢 (@NickManIsBroken) October 23, 2019 The obvious question for many fans was confusion as to why he's receiving all this negativity. It likely just comes down to the LA city rivalry, as well as the fact that everyone loves to take a shot at the king, particularly when he turns down calls to sign for your team to instead join your local enemies. However, some Twitter responses suggested that if Kawhi had stayed in Toronto, maybe he wouldn't be getting all this heat. Damn!!! He should of stayed in Toronto— Marlo britton (@marlo_britton) October 23, 2019 Canada didn’t do him like this— Paul Larry (@paullarryy) October 23, 2019 Lakers fans have no class....Kawhi should have stayed with Toronto.#Kawhi #NBAisBack #nba https://t.co/reMVoB18TD— $@r@ (@thenorthaspoken) October 23, 2019 That’s a warm welcome? Kawhi went home only to get booed by LA fans. Shoulda stayed in Toronto Kawhi, we fucking LOVED you. pic.twitter.com/iumoWOOLpN— Johnny Toronto 🇨🇦 (@johnnytoronto99) October 23, 2019 Maybe if he stayed in Toronto, he would have got a different treatment— andres (@andres14soccer) October 23, 2019 However, others were loving the boos coming in from the crowd for Kawhi, or, at the very least, found it pretty entertaining to watch. Is it just me or is Kawhi getting boo’d at his own “home” game haha pic.twitter.com/8suywo7A8u— Danny Hoyt (@dannyhoyt) October 23, 2019 pic.twitter.com/VZO7MCCuPP— RŸLAN (@Rylan_MK) October 23, 2019 Me and the person next to me while we boo Kawhi when he plays in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/Dam0VSDci2— Mad Mullah (@MarvMullah) October 23, 2019 One thing is for certain, if Kawhi would've stayed in Toronto, he most likely wouldn't have had this experience, that's for sure. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
