Kawhi Leonard is one of the best small forwards that have played in the NBA, and he is well-known for being a two-way superstar that is able to dominate on both ends of the floor. Leonard has won the Finals MVP award two times in his career, and he is still a top-tier superstar in the game today.
Despite his current ability, there was once a time when Kawhi Leonard was a role player on the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, in 2014, Kevin Durant called Kawhi Leonard a product of the Spurs’ system under Gregg Popovich.
Apparently Kevin Durant isn't all that impressed with Kawhi Leonard. Tweets have since been deleted. #Thunder #OKC pic.twitter.com/2XJUQKj99l
— Up The Thunder (@BoomtownHoops) June 16, 2014
“He doing work like this because of the system. Put Paul George on the Spurs what would happen?
Since then, Kevin Durant has completely changed his mind about Kawhi Leonard. In 2016, Durant claimed that Leonard has “grown as a player”, adding that he wasn’t a “system player”.
Kevin Durant asked about Kawhi Leonard: "He's definitely grown as a player. He's not a system player."
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 25, 2016
“He’s definitely grown as a player. He’s not a system player.”
It is clear that Kawhi Leonard wasn’t the player that he was today in 2014. The San Antonio Spurs clearly aided his development, and he definitely thrived in their system. However, it was unfair to call Kawhi Leonard a “system player”, and he has since proven that he is a true superstar, winning the championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Kawhi Leonard missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury that he sustained in the 2021 playoffs against the Utah Jazz. Hopefully, he is able to come back stronger than ever. The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the best teams in the Western Conference with him back, and many believe they could win the championship with him at the helm. They notably acquired point guard John Wall this offseason, and perhaps we’ll see Kawhi Leonard win his third championship next year.
