After tearing his ACL in the 2021 playoffs, Kawhi Leonard has fallen into obscurity for the past year, staying in the shadows as he prepares for his eventual return to the court in October.
And while things remain mostly unknown on the Kawhi front, his teammate and co-star Paul George recently shed some light on what it’s like to play with him.
As a guest on the season premiere of Serge Ibaka’s ‘How Hungry Are You?’ PG dropped his feelings on Leonard and praised his attributes as a leader and teammate:
“He’s just a great dude. Like, I think people don’t really know him but if you get a chance to know him he’s like an awesome teammate, he’s just like anybody else,” said George. “Anything that’s going on like he has some type of knowledge about it. And so, you know, shout outs to the board man.”
Of course, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are more than teammates, they are friends:
“We kick it. We share a lot of interests. We got little kids almost the same age and so, you know, we just do daddy things.”
The two joined forces back in 2019 when Kawhi bounced to Los Angeles and managed to bring PG along for the ride. In the three years since, they have become a critical duo in the league and hold a lot of power within the organization:
According to The Athletic, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were granted an unprecedented level of star treatment, which included being assigned their own personal security guards and trainers, power over the team’s practice schedule, and the ability to pick and chose which games they played.
Unfortunately, their pairing has not produced the desired results. In three seasons, they have not advanced past the Conference Finals and there are questions about if they can ever get there.
Whatever the case, it’s clear that the two stars have formed quite a bond in Los Angeles and it would be unwise to count them out of the title chase next season.
