Kawhi Leonard’s legacy remains one of the NBA’s most controversial topics. Although he has an impressive catalogue of achievements, his various injuries create a grey area in his standing among the greats. However, just like any other athlete, Leonard maintains utmost confidence in his abilities. His former teammate Danny Green believes there needs to be a limit to how far that confidence goes.
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Kawhi may be a man of few words, but a few individuals have gotten to know the Los Angeles Clippers star on a deeper level. Danny Green is one of those people. The two spent eight years together as teammates with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors.
Green had front-row seats to witness the impeccable heights Leonard would reach. He watched a 22-year-old young star emerge as the future face of the Spurs franchise after winning the 2014 NBA Finals MVP. Five years later, he served as one of Leonard’s running-mates during his iconic 2019 title run with the Raptors.
There’s no denying that sole season in Toronto was the work of legends. Leonard reportedly even placed himself among the all-time ranks following that championship.
“Kawhi changed my view on a lot of s**t, but there was one thing in particular that I overheard,” Fred VanVleet said on the Underground Podcast. “He didn’t say it to me, I just overheard it. And it was a conversation that was being had, and the sentiment of that conversation was when we won the championship, he was like, ‘I’m better than Kobe.'”
Fred VanVleet says Kawhi Leonard believed his 2019 finals fun put him ahead of Kobe
“It was a conversation being had and the sentiment of it was when we won the championship was like ‘I’m better than Kobe.”
(Via underground podcast) pic.twitter.com/kwDxaNbQU5
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 17, 2025
VanVleet’s comments quickly took over the basketball community. It was shocking that Leonard would say something so bold while being a man of few words. That comment even caught Green off guard when he first heard it. If his former teammate truly believes that, Green can’t side with him.
“He had a really good run in Toronto, but he would have to do that for 10 years to catch Kobe,” Green said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break.
Green will be the first person to give Kawhi the flowers he deserves. However, he can’t overlook how short-lived Leonard’s prime has been. The two-time NBA champion is still one of the best players in the league, but he just hasn’t been able to play enough games for it to matter.
Since the 2017-18 season, Kawhi has only played over 65 games once. On the other hand, he has played under 55 games four times. That fact alone leads to there being no comparison to Kobe in Green’s mind.
“Kobe is another guy. He scored 81 in a game. I’ve seen Kobe score 60 in three quarters. Not many people cared about the game like Kobe did,” Green said.
Green certainly trusts VanVleet since they were former teammates, but he wasn’t there to guarantee the validity of such a claim. However, assuming Kawhi did say such a thing, Green wouldn’t hesitate to push back on such a nonsensical statement.
