Didn't want to start a new thread on this, but pretty good read
Full story: Wright: Kawhi Leonard, the NBA's quiet new superstar
Kawhi Leonard, the NBA's quiet new superstar
The message plays in a near-continuous loop in Kawhi Leonard's head.
"Just before about every game, I'll tell him, 'OK, the thing that makes players great is consistency,'" San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich explained to ESPN.com. "Go out there every night and do what Timmy's [Duncan] done in his career or Dirk Nowitzki or Kobe [Bryant]. Most players don't even know what that's like to have that kind of standard, that kind of responsibility night after night."
Popovich does all the talking. Leonard responds usually with, "Yeah" or "I got you."
"When I say these things to him, it's not like he says, 'OK Pop, I'm going to go out there and do this or that. He'll just shake his head," Popovich said.
Leonard spares the words and flexes the verbs. That is how he elevated his game from a full-of-potential tier to an elite level, all while maintaining a profile as low as his deep monotone voice on the way to becoming the NBA's most unassuming new superstar, as well as a certain All-Star and likely MVP candidate.
Full story: Wright: Kawhi Leonard, the NBA's quiet new superstar