Kevin Durant had some questionable thoughts on Kawhi Leonard in 2014, calling him a product of the San Antonio Spurs system.
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Leonard is the best two-way player in the league when he’s healthy. His 2019 Finals run with the Raptors is one of the most impressive playoff runs in history.
He started his career off with the San Antonio Spurs where he quickly gained a reputation as a defensive genius. His efforts were best highlighted in the 2014 Finals.
The Spurs matched up against the Heat big three for the second year running, and this time, victory was all theirs. They put on a shooting clinic and marched to a 4-1 series win.
Kawhi won Finals MVP that series for his efforts against LeBron James who couldn’t muster much against the youngster back then. Kevin Durant saw the $80 million net worth Kawhi’s success, but he didn’t think too much of it at the time.
Y’all didn’t wanna believe @KDTrey5 when said Kawhi was a system player. Pop and Nurse system made Kawhi, this debate is over 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/OuKjEZLk43
— J (@JTheGOAT_) September 16, 2020
Kevin Durant went back on his statement about Kawhi Leonard two years later
“[The Spurs system] is the reason he’s out there,” Durant said in 2014. “Pop put him in great positions to be the player that he is. So, I don’t regret [the 2014 comments] at all.”
He was also asked to clarify his comments, and he doubled down on his take.
“I did not hate on Kawhi Leonard, quite honestly if you knew me or been around me, you would see how excited I was for such a young humble guy,” Durant explained. “But this world loves conflict I see. I really gave major props to coach Pop and the whole staff for putting those guys in great positions to be successful. I’ve realized u can’t say anything about a champion so if I hurt anybody’s feeling I apologized (I really don’t) but u get my drift.”
However, two years later in 2016 when Kawhi was in the running for an MVP award, Durant changed his mind. He saw that the Spurs forward was much more than a system player and had come into his own.
Kevin Durant asked about Kawhi Leonard: “He’s definitely grown as a player. He’s not a system player.”
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 25, 2016
Now, Leonard is a top-five player in the league when he’s healthy, and he won another title outside San Antonio. If there was any shred of evidence left that he might be a system player, he removed all those notions when he won with the Raptors.
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