Leonard quietly makes most noise
Kawhi, Kawhi, Kawhi. Air Kawhi.
The Kawhi of July. Kawhi for president. Everywhere and everything: Kawhi.
Earth-shaking superstars have been running the NBA for a while.
But a mysterious, secretive small forward from Toronto keeping two countries and the rest of the basketball world in minuteby-minute suspense?
Absolutely amazing, especially when you consider just how far Kawhi Leonard has come.
It’s a fading memory now. But I can still picture the future two-time NBA champion speaking with the media after the 2011 draft in Newark, N.J.
Kyrie Irving went No. 1 to
Cleveland. The Raptors took Jonas Valanciunas with the fifth pick. Utah selected Enes Kanter at No. 3 and Alec Burks at 12. Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette and Klay Thompson were taken back-toback-to-back. Then the Morris brothers were drafted before Leonard fell to 15.
“I feel great right now. I got picked to be on an NBA team,” Leonard said that June, while Indiana was sending his rights to San Antonio. “I worked hard. I finally accomplished my dream now, but it's not over yet. I've got a lot of work to do to make an impact in the league, and I'm ready to do any type of work I've got to do.”
Eight years later, Leonard is running The Association.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rebuilt Lakers are stuck waiting on a sign in Los Angeles. The Clippers will instantly place L.A.’s other NBA team in the hands of The Klaw the moment that Leonard says yes. And just three weeks after the Raptors captured the first NBA championship in Canada’s history, Leonard’s supposed flight back to Toronto on Wednesday was tracked like Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were sharing the same tank during a parade in our nation’s capital.
Sorry, Fourth of July. If Leonard announces his decision on Independence Day, you’re getting trumped by The Klaw.
I remember when Leonard vs. the Spurs was a really big deal. He won. San Antonio lost. And I don’t know if Gregg Popovich and Co. will ever recover from their inability to keep Leonard in smallmarket silver and black.
My favorite part of all this: Kawhi is so perfect for these times.
Modern life is crazier than ever — and it’s been really crazy for a long time. Fake news, too much real news, endless information, oversharing in the reality TV/social-media age …
Leonard’s answer to the white noise that screams louder than ever: simple silence.
If you want him, you reportedly must prove your loyalty by not saying or revealing anything. And we all know that Leonard doesn’t really say anything, even when a legion of microphones and cameras are ready to soak up everything
he does.
James announced his first free-agent decision via an ego-driven national TV special. Kevin Durant turned his first decision into a spectacle that culminated with the Hamptons Five, and just announced his second decision by declaring his move to Brooklyn on his self-branded Instagram or something. Irving released a hype video that made him look like the new king of New York.
Yet during the biggest free-agency bonanza in NBA history, Leonard hasn’t said a darn thing and nothing has leaked. Do you know how impossible that is nowadays? Everything leaks.
Maybe he’ll confuse us again and form the greatest superteam to date with the Lakers, joining forces with The Brow and The King. But the most recent glimpse we have of what really makes Leonard tick was with the Raptors, where he led a team toa title and did everything that superstars used to do before they started powering up so they didn’t have to carry as much personal weight.
Leonard’s name is often followed with two-time Finals MVP. But what should stand out the most are his five All-Defensive team selections and twice being named NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter of all-time but often a liability on defense. James Harden is the best scorer in the modern game but hasn’t always been associated with AllNBA D. Durant is a good defender but best known for being an offensive assassin. James’ boredom on the defensive end became social-media fodder last season.
Leonard barely speaks, devotes himself on both ends of the court, and leads by example. He earns and deserves our attention but doesn’t ask for or seek it.
In the NBA during the summer of 2019, Leonard is basically from the Middle Ages.
And now the league waits on its new leader. Patient but anxious. Subdued and at a distance, so as not to disturb the impenetrable aura of The Klaw.
Say less. Be cool. Do it all – without bragging.
We could all use a little more Kawhi in our lives.