Leonard’s successful launch no surprise to former Spurs
TORONTO — It seems Kawhi Leonard was speaking the absolute truth the first time he met with the media as a member of the Toronto Raptors.
It’s been confirmed by a coach who spent three seasons watching Leonard emerge as a force in the National Basketball Association with the San Antonio Spurs.
“He’s got personality, he does,” Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego said Monday morning. “He’s a fun guy to be around, big smile. Guys enjoy being around him, and I think Toronto is going to find out what they have here … They’ve found themselves a very good player.”
Borrego was a Spurs assistant under Gregg Popovich from 2015 to ’18 — his second stint after working in San Antonio from ’03 to ’10, which gave him a front-row seat as Leonard went from raw project to one of the best players in the league, an outstanding defender whose offensive game has blossomed in the past few seasons.
And, quite aside from Leonard’s oft discussed personality, Borrego has an appreciation of his basketball skills and work ethic that runs deep.
“Every year, every day, he got better,” the first-year Hornets coach said before Charlotte faced Leonard and the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. “(He) just approached each day as work, didn’t complain … he just came out and worked and he’s made himself into one of the top players in our league.
“Happy for him. Proud of him. He’s done a great job.”
What Borrego remembers is what Toronto fans are learning now that they are able to see Leonard’s game up close and often. He doesn’t come across as particularly flashy, nor is he what could be described as explosive. He’s just strong and smart. And lethal.
“He’s not sort of a rah-rah defender … it’s like he comes out of nowhere, just kind of lurking,” Borrego said. “He’s kind of that guy who’s just lurking there and then, within a second, he can pounce. He’s just hunting down his prey almost. He sniffs things out, he can recover on mistakes, as well.
“I think that’s one of the keys for Kawhi over the years. Even when we were beat, he’d just go make a play. When he was out of position, he’d just go make a play with his length, athleticism, timing.”
It was like old home week around the arena for Monday’s shootaround with Borrego along with ex-Spur and current Hornet Tony Parker talking about their years with Leonard and Danny Green, and Green recalling all his success in San Antonio.
Things might not have ended well for some of them — Leonard and Green were summarily traded away, while Parker is one of the rare players who decided to leave the San Antonio program for a far less successful one in Charlotte — but it was all sweetness and light talking to them.
“I loved playing with him,” Parker said of Leonard. “He plays both ways, both ends of the court, he can do everything. He can shoot threes, he can play transition … so I definitely think the Raptors will be one of the best teams in the East because he’s on that team.
“I played eight years with Danny. He’s one of my favourite teammates of all time. Danny’s just a great guy to have. He does all the little stuff: blocking shots, playing D, hitting threes. As a point guard who loves to penetrate, it was great to have Danny and Kawhi because they were great shooters.”
Green and Parker caught up a bit on the off-night before Monday’s game to check in, just as they did at points over the summer.
Being teammates and having gone through all they went through in San Antonio creates a unique bond.
“We’ve been checking in with each other here and there,” Green said. “Manu (Ginobili) texted. Timmy (Duncan) texted, Pop reached out to me. I’m sure they reached out to Kawhi, as well.
“(Parker) is enjoying it. Something new, something fresh for him. He’s enjoying a new city, same as me. He’s had a lot of fun with it.”
Monday also marked the first time Green and Leonard had played an NBA game against Parker as opposed to with him.
“It makes it a little more fun to go up and compete against guys you know, also to see what they’re thinking, where their heads are at, and give my team a heads-up with habits and try to stop those things,” Green said.