The San Antonio Spurs get petty as they deliberately forget to mention Kawhi Leonard while celebrating other NBA 75th Anniversary members, despite winning a ring with them.
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A throwback to the 2017 NBA season, where Kawhi Leonard was leading the Spurs to a 60-win season and had a genuine case to be the best two-way player in the league. The 5x All-Star looked all set to lead the franchise into their next dynasty and take over the reins from Tim Duncan and Co.
7 YEARS AGO, Kawhi Leonard won Finals MVP after the Spurs defeated the Heat!pic.twitter.com/5Nvv1zw1X5
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) June 15, 2021
However, over the next year or so, their relationship happened to deteriorate drastically. The main reason being the Spurs and Leonard’s representatives disagreed on how to best treat the quad injury he suffered in 2017.
Those quarrels eventually spilled over enough to sour the relationship and he was eventually traded for DeMar DeRozan to the Raptors, where he ended up winning a ring and a Finals MVP up north.
On this day two years ago, Kawhi Leonard stole the show at the Raptors championship parade ♥️
The city of Toronto will never forget this 🤣pic.twitter.com/FfbcRV3e3C
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 17, 2021
Meanwhile, San Antonio hasn’t still recovered from that incident. Moreover, there seems to be no love lost between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs, and an Instagram post might just prove that’s the case.
So, what exactly happened? Read on and find out…
The Spurs forget to congratulate Kawhi Leonard for making the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
During the halftime ceremony of the NBA All-Star Game, some of the greatest players to ever play were honoured for making the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, including the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James among others. Also on the list was the LA Clippers’ superstar Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard takes his spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team. pic.twitter.com/wKjo1gWW10
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 21, 2022
However, Kawhi was not the player who played for the Spurs that made the cut. Franchise legends Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and George Gervin all made the Top 75 players list. And was the trio was congratulated by the Spurs’ Instagram page for their achievement. Check out the post by them:
View this post on Instagram
However, as you can see, they slyly left out Kawhi Leonard, who also made the NBA 75th Anniversary team. This is a clear dig at the San Diego State product, who left the franchise on bad terms. And it seems like the Spurs still hold some kind of grudge towards the defensive star.
Spurs Instagram celebrated their NBA75 members and didn’t mention Kawhi, man.. pic.twitter.com/0CmzG2ltge
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) February 21, 2022
This is really petty from an organization like the Spurs, whose whole M.O is class and excellence. This incident doesn’t paint them in a good light at all. After all, the man won a ring and even a Finals MVP for the ball club. The least they could do is show him some respect.
There is also a small chance that the Spurs don’t want to recognize a player who is currently still playing in the NBA. And maybe when he does retire, the franchise might just give him his flowers. However, it does seem like they are being petty nonetheless.
The @Spurs left Kawhi Leonard out of this graphic 👀 https://t.co/uL7nghzjMY
— Preston Moore (He/Him) (@prestoncmoore) February 20, 2022
However, knowing Kawhi Leonard, he will not even acknowledge this incident. To be honest, he probably doesn’t even know about this childish act from his former employers.
Hopefully, he can recover as soon as possible from his injury and be back on the court, destroying opponents on the court and making us laugh off it.