Kawhi Leonard is a man of few words.
That’s all about to change—at least that’s what Leonard says, in very few words, mind you. Per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:
“I’ve been in the system a long time,” Leonard said Monday after guiding the Spurs to an 86-81 preseason win at Detroit. “I know what Pop expects. Since I know what to do and what areas we’re lacking in, I can now be vocal with the young guys.”
This is a big deal, and most definitely the result of Tim Duncan’s retirement. The Spurs still have graying vets in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to carry the leadership torch, but Duncan’s departure is a reminder that there will come a time when Leonard is the face of the franchise on his own. And when that happens, San Antonio will need an emotional bellwether—not just some big-time free-agency acquisition, like LaMarcus Aldridge or Pau Gasol, but someone who has been around the Spurs and Gregg Popovich, who is a team lifer and direct product of its culture.
That someone is going to be Leonard. Hell, as Coach Pop said, per McDonald, it already is Leonard:
“He talks in timeouts now,” Popovich said of last season’s MVP runner-up. “He’s joking with people more. You can see he demands the ball more and people know how to play with him in the middle of everything.”
This is awesome, and weird, and then awesome again. Watching Leonard’s body language on the court and during timeouts should instantly become every fan’s guilty pleasure this season.
Of course, we shouldn’t expect his newfound sociability to carry over into interviews. It seldom did for Duncan, one of the most stoic all-time greats ever, and Leonard doesn’t figure to be any different. We’ll just have to settle for him expressing actual emotion and saying actual words during games—which, when you think about how quiet he has been over the last five years, isn’t really settling at all.
