Kawhi Leonard isn’t your typical NBA superstar. Besides his rare mastery of both ends of the basketball floor, his personality isn’t what you’d expect from an athlete of his caliber.
Kawhi is quiet, reserved, and very much introverted when it comes to the public spotlight or expressing his emotions in front of the cameras.
But for his former coach Gregg Popovich, that’s just one of the things he loved about Kawhi. Back in 2016, he revealed his favorite Leonard moment — which perfectly reflects his personality.
“He stole it from Curry the other night, just took it from him and went down and dunked it, and his expression did not change. He didn’t raise his fist or look cool to the crowd or do any of this stupid-a** stuff. He didn’t do a thing. He just goes the other direction, like he’s bored to death. I love that about him,” Popovich said via San Antonio Express-News.
It really is a perfect example of who Kawhi is. He’s not flashy or loud like most world-famous millionaire athletes. He just keeps to himself, balls out on the court, and lives his life in peace.
As for what to expect from him for this upcoming season, we’ll just have to wait and see. It has been over a year since we’ve seen Leonard play professionally, and it will be a long road back to stardom.
But if he can find his groove again and lead the Clippers to a respectable position, he could easily re-take his throne as one of the best in the world.
“Kawhi is my favorite NBA player,” said Julius Erving. “Absolutely. I’ll tell you what, it’s kind of like a mutual admiration. I really admire him, I haven’t sat down or had dinner with him or lunch or anything like that. We connected All-Star weekend during the top 75 [celebration]. It’s always just a cordiality there because he’s a favorite guy that I like to watch in the NBA. So I’ve gone on record and saying that I don’t know if he’s heard about it or not.”
No matter what Kawhi does on the court, we know that he’ll be focused on working his way back to form. Without the distractions of a typical star, he should have no trouble jumping back into action.
And when he does finally take the court again, it will mark a special occasion for his career and for Clippers fans around the globe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhem1WJZDDY
