Danny Green Opens Up on Kawhi Leonard’s Ascent to Superstardom, Reveals How 2x Champion “Made It Look Easy”

Danny Green is one of the coolest developmental stories of the late 2000s, going from the 46th pick to playing a small role as a rookie for the Cleveland Cavaliers to being immediately waived and signing with the San Antonio Spurs where he became a part of their fabric for nearly 15 years before winning two more titles in Toronto and LA. He also boasts one of the most star-studded rosters of teammates you could ever put together.

From LeBron James and AD to Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, Joel Embiid, and even Shaquille O’Neal, he’s played with some excellent players. However, he spent the most time growing with Kawhi Leonard.

When Kawhi was traded to the Spurs on a draft night deal that saw George Hill join the Indiana Pacers, he came in at the same time as the unheralded SG. While neither were particularly headliners, one as a mid-first-round pick, the other as a recently cut 24-year-old, both would blossom in their own right.

Green’s steps to become the team’s starting two guard in just his second year in San Antonio should be impressive enough; Kawhi would be guarding LeBron James in the Finals in the same timeframe. As Green watched on, Leonard became one of the most unexpected superstars in the league, finishing second in MVP voting in 2016.

Green joined the All the Smoke with former Spur Stephen Jackson and NBA journeyman Matt Barnes to talk about the stories of his long career. The trio got to the topic of Kawhi late into recording, but it was worth the wait.

“He was just a defensive guy, because I was there when George Hill was, and they loved him.” remembered Green, “So I was like ‘damn, they traded George for this kid?’ I didn’t see it at first… they were like he’s going to be the next Bruce Bowen, he’s gonna be all-defense.”

It’s always funny to hear stories of front offices being extremely high on players, to the point of comparing them to someone in their team’s all-time greats, like Bruce Bowen, and then still underselling it. As great as Bowen was as a defender and connective piece, it’s safe to say Kawhi has certainly outperformed that comparison.

Leonard’s defense was as advertised, but it was his development on the offensive end that came as such a surprise. He was completely unable to shoot when he came in from San Diego State, but became one of the most lethal scorers in NBA history.

“Next thing you know, the keys got passed to him really quickly. At the end of the game, it was usually an angle for Tony. I seen Pop cuss Tony out one time [for not passing to Kawhi]… I’m like ‘oh, this is what we’re doing now?” Leonard’s supplanting of Spurs all-timer Tony Parker was a surefire sign that he’d gained the trust of everyone involved.

Green continued heaping deserved praise on Leonard. “Nothing phased him. He just made it look easy.” He did do exactly that. During the Raptors’ championship run, Kawhi averaged 30.5 points per game on near 50/40/90 shooting splits, along with arguably the most iconic game-winner of the millennium.

Injuries have derailed the latter half of Kawhi’s career, but it’s important to remember how unexpected it was for him to ever reach this level, and how high that level truly was. At his peak, Kawhi Leonard was able to stop anyone and could not be stopped by anyone. As far as a sport like basketball goes, there may not be a better set of abilities than that.