Kawhi Leonard Biography
Kawhi Leonard born Kawhi Anthony Leonard is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Leonard was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2014, when he was also named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
He is a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, having won in 2015 and 2016, and is a two-time All-NBA First Team member (2016 and 2017).
Leonard played two seasons of college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs and was a consensus second-team All-American as a sophomore.
Kawhi Leonard Age | How Old Is Kawhi Leonard
He was born on 29 June 1991 in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is 27 years old as of 2018.
Kawhi Leonard Height | How Tall Is Kawhi Leonard
He is 2.01 meters tall.
Kawhi Leonard Dad
His father is called Mark Leonard. He has four older siblings who are all girls. His father, Mark, owns and operates a car wash in Compton where he met his untimely death from a gunshot on the 18th day of January 2008.
Kawhi Leonard Girlfriend | Wife
He is married to Kishel Shipley. There is no information about their break up.
Spurs Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs
During the beginning of his professional career in the Spurs, he got a chance to place the best Rookie of the year and was voted for and he was later named the NBA All-Rookie First Team. His was within a year since joining the team in 2012.
It was during his time as a player for the Spurs that he appeared for the first finals matches back in 2013 and later won the championship in 2014 which gave him the breakthrough and re-known success. He later went on to win several awards while still in the team like:
- Defensive player of the year- 2015
- First All-Star Collection-2016
- Second ALl- NBA First Team Selection-2017
In 2018, he has not been so active as he has undergone a series of injuries.
Kawhi Leonard College
As a freshman at San Diego State University in 2009–10, Leonard averaged 12.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Aztecs. He helped lead the Aztecs to a 25–9 record and the Mountain West Conference (MWC) tournament title.
SDSU received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament but lost to Tennessee 62–59 in the first round, with Leonard recording 12 points and 10 rebounds. He led the MWC in rebounding and was named MWC freshman of the year, first team All-MWC, and the 2010 MWC Tournament MVP.
In Leonard’s sophomore season, he averaged 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds as the Aztecs finished with a 34–3 record and won back-to-back conference tournament championships. Leonard and San Diego State would once again make the NCAA tournament.
This time, SDSU would advance to the Sweet 16 where they lost to eventual national champion UConn. Leonard was named to the Second Team All-America and would forgo his final two seasons at San Diego State to enter the 2011 NBA draft.
Kawhi Leonard Draft
Kawhi Leonard Trade
The San Antonio Spurs have traded Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, the Spurs announced Wednesday. The first-round pick Toronto sent to San Antonio is a protected 1-20 selection, a source told ESPN.
Kawhi Leonard Wingspan
His wingspan stands at 2.21 meters
Kawhi Leonard Contract
Kawhi Leonard signed a 5 year / $94,343,126 contract with the San Antonio Spurs, including $94,343,126 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $18,868,625. In 2018-19, Leonard will earn a base salary of $20,099,188, while carrying a cap hit of $23,114,066 and a dead cap value of $41,428,938.
Kawhi Leonard Jordan
Kawhi Leonard will be a free agent twice in 2019. It is very likely that he will be searching for a new NBA team and now a new shoe deal, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula.
After turning down a four-year, $22 million deal from Jordan Brand in March, the company announced on Tuesday that it will let Leonard leave the company in October. Leonard will be free to sign with any shoe brand of his choice.
Similar to his tumultuous year in San Antonio, Leonard has not spoken to the media regarding his contract with Jordan Brand nor his plans at the end of his deal later this year. Earlier this year, ESPN reported that talks between Leonard’s camp and Jordan stalled. Under his current contract with the shoe company, he earns less than $500,000 per year in the endorsement deal.
Only Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Russell Westbrook have received a Jordan signature shoe. Jordan reportedly had no plans to create a Leonard signature shoe.
Leonard will join Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Gordon Hayward, and DeMarcus Cousins as some of the top sneaker free agents in October..
Kawhi Leonard Jersey | Shirt | Logo | Shoes | Hands
NBA Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard Highlights
Kawhi Leonard Season Stats
Date |
Min |
Pts |
FG |
3pt |
Reb |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
31/10 |
76ers |
34 |
31 |
10-19 |
2-5 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
30/10 |
Bucks |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
0- 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27/10 |
Mavericks |
35 |
21 |
7-16 |
1-3 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
Regular Season
|
34.7
|
27.3
|
50.4
|
44.4
|
7.8
|
3.2
|
2.0
|
0.5
|
|
Career |
30.4 |
16.5 |
49.5 |
38.7 |
6.2 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
0.7 |
Kawhi Leonard Car
Kawhi Leonard Salary
He earns a salary of 17.64 million USD as per 2017 release.
Kawhi Leonard Facebook
Kawhi Leonard Twitter
Kawhi Leonard Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpdiGJwlQHT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Kawhi Leonard Memes
At least we know that Kawhi Leonard is still good at playing basketball.
Last Wednesday, he scored 35 points in 35 minutes against the Timberwolves to keep the Raptors undefeated. In the five games he has played this season, he is averaging 26.6 points while shooting 50 percent from the field, including 45.5 percent from three. The mysterious hamstring injury that kept him off the court for most of last season and catalyzed his exit from the Spurs doesn’t seem to have hindered him in any way.
After the game against Minnesota, Jimmy Butler praised Leonard’s dominance on the court:
It doesn’t matter if Leonard is actually a fun person or not. The important thing is he wants to be seen as such, which is in opposition to the idea of Leonard that existed during his time with the Spurs. Leonard had been built up as the perfect Spurs player: quiet, selfless, humble, obedient. Because he never seemed to show too much emotion or talk about who he was as a person, he was seen as robotic. He was supposed to be the next superstar to lead the Spurs, the natural heir, in both talent and personality, to David Robinson and Tim Duncan. He was Gregg Popovich’s perfect project. A player who worked himself from a role player into a superstar.
Leonard wasn’t just any superstar though, he was a Spurs star. That naturally meant he was a basketball automaton who shunned individualism for the sake of team success. He was someone who “really, truly, honestly understands basketball as a sport where the individual is rendered nearly moot.”
And because Leonard himself said nothing, his silence was transformed into a narrative premise about who he supposedly was. Leonard was an emotionless robot, and anything he did confirmed that.
Leonard was a robot because he fell and got back up quicker that any human should have. He was a robot because he was quiet on the court and didn’t trash talk. When he began to smile more last season, it was because he got a software update. David Fizdale said Leonard bled antifreeze, and supposedly wasn’t breathing when the two of them stood next to each other.
Even when it was reported that Leonard had been so nervous during the draft night he sweated through his suit — a very human response to stress and anxiety — that truth was repackaged into the robot myth. It proved “he’s more of a bionic hybrid, upgraded by San Antonio’s basketball labs, than a true organic robot.”
Leonard’s departure from the Spurs and the manner in which he left exposed a big problem in the myth-making of athletes: Every great player needs a story. The stories of athletes are often just as important to us as their accomplishments.
There’s no Kobe Bryant without the story of the tireless, almost-sociopathic chase for greatness. No Michael Jordan without the six championships, the ease of his dominance, and stories of his vengeful nature. No LeBron James without “Just A Kid From Akron” and now “More Than An Athlete”. No Stephen Curry without the humble, self-sacrificial superstar, who no one thought would succeed in the league. The arena is a theater and the stories add depth to the characters. As human beings who love stories, it’s what attracts us, as much or more than the actions of the individuals.
Most times the athletes actively participate in making these stories, because they can be beneficial to them, as well. But Leonard chose not to participate. When the story of who he was as a person was written, it was told through other people because he refused to provide any quotes. He chose to be silent.
To be silent is Leonard’s right. It’s an understandable choice in a world where comments are frequently misconstrued, but he doesn’t need a particular reason to be quiet. It’s a simple, rational choice. Yet that silence was taken as proof he was yet another Spurs robot. And when his relationship with the Spurs deteriorated, the silence that never changed then morphed into a sign of petulance and selfishness. The humble superstar became the player who thought he was bigger than the team — through no fault of his own, but because of what people projected onto his silence.
Leonard’s insistence he is a fun guy was bizarre because it was one of the only times he has tried to express something about his inner life. It was also at odds with the story of him that had been created and reinforced for so long. He tried to be open and was mocked for it because what he said didn’t fit into an accepted idea of him. And it was that declaration about who he was that made his laughter afterward more uncomfortable.
He had laughed like that before, while he was with the Spurs, and no one paid attention to it because he was a robot then. But after claiming he is fun, the laugh was a perfect opportunity to bury him back into a box. He couldn’t be fun or human, because he didn’t know how to laugh. He was a robot mimicking a human laugh.
It might be too much to ask, but what Leonard deserves is patience. Being away from the Spurs grants him a chance to control his own story, and as he had a right to his silence, he also has a right to be more than what the NBA world thinks he is.
We all need to be comfortable with the fact we don’t know who he is. That the person who we think he is might not be based on any reality. And that it’s fine if at the end of his career, we never actually know anything more about him other than he was really good at basketball. We need to see beyond the myth of Leonard and give him the space to determine who he wants to be.
Kawhi Leonard Career Stats
Year |
Team |
Gp |
Min |
Pts |
FG% |
3Pt% |
Reb |
Ast
|
Stl
|
Blk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 |
Raptors |
6 |
34.7 |
27.3 |
50.4 |
44.4 |
7.8 |
3.2
|
2.0
|
0.5 |
2017 |
Spurs |
9 |
23.3 |
16.2 |
46.8 |
31.4 |
4.7 |
2.3
|
2.0
|
1.0 |
2016 |
Spurs |
74 |
33.4 |
25.5 |
48.5 |
38.0 |
5.8 |
3.5
|
1.8
|
0.7 |
2015
|
Spurs
|
72
|
33.1
|
21.2
|
50.6
|
44.3
|
6.8
|
2.6
|
1.8
|
1.0
|
2014
|
Spurs
|
64
|
31.8
|
16.5
|
47.9
|
34.9
|
7.2
|
2.5
|
2.3
|
0.8
|
2013
|
Spurs
|
66
|
29.1
|
12.8
|
52.2
|
37.9
|
6.2
|
2.0
|
1.7
|
0.8
|
2012
|
Spurs
|
58
|
31.2
|
11.9
|
49.4
|
37.4
|
6.0
|
1.6
|
1.7
|
0.6
|
2011
|
Spurs
|
64
|
24.0
|
7.9
|
49.3
|
37.6
|
5.1
|
1.1
|
1.3
|
0.4
|
Career |
413 |
30.4 |
16.5 |
49.5 |
38.7 |
6.2 |
2.3
|
1.8
|
0.7 |
Mark Leonard Kawhi Leonard
Mark Leonard was Kawhi’s father who was killed during a natural calamity.
Kawhi Leonard Rumors
For the first time in at least a decade, there’s a question of who’s the best player in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James occupied that position since at least 2007 and now, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and even Joel Embiid have a claim to that title.
In the spirit of election season, Yahoo Sports polled a handful of scouts and executives, and while it was close, the choice was Leonard. Because of his previous accomplishments and fast start with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard instilled enough confidence in the pollsters to place him at the top of the mountain, by a 7-4 margin over Antetokounmpo.
Kawhi Leonard Injury | Injury Report
January
Leonard plays in consecutive games for the second time this season when he appears in a Jan. 2 games against the Knicks after playing in a Dec. 30 meeting with the Pistons. Leonard posts a season-highs with 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals in a season-high 31 minutes as the Spurs get a win in Madison Square Garden.
The game in New York was the first night of a back-to-back, so Leonard misses the Jan. 3 contest in Philadelphia, but takes the court for the eighth time this season Jan. 5 against the Suns. He scores 21 in a 14-point win and plays 29 minutes. He skips the next three games but returns Jan. 13 to play 28 minutes and score 19 points to go along with eight boards, four assists and four steals in a 32-point home win over the Nuggets.
On Jan. 17, the Spurs announce Leonard will be out indefinitely to continue rehab on his right quad. Rumors begin to swirl about how the injury will effect Leonard’s future in the NBA and then an ESPN report claims there is a rift between the 2014 Finals MVP and the Spurs because of his rehab. Leonard’s uncle denies the report however and says Kawhi and the team have a good relationship.
February
Leonard spends three weeks in New York getting a second opinion on the injury before returning to San Antonio to work with the Spurs staff. On Feb. 21, Popovich says he would “be surprised if he returns this season.” Questions continue to come about concerning how the injury should be handled and whether or not this is something the Spurs need to be even more concerned about since Leonard was cleared by the Spurs’ medical team, but opts to remain out.
At the end of the month, after Leonard had returned to San Antonio, a report surfaces saying he hopes to be back on the court in March.
Early March
On March 7, Leonard tells reporters he wants to finish his career with the Spurs. However, rumors continue and concern what he might do in 2019 free agency and what the people in his camp have been telling him.
On March 10, it is reported that San Antonio is looking to get Leonard on the court for a March 15 game against the Pelicans, but on March 13 it is reported that he will remain out and is still having the injury evaluated.
Around this same time Spurs legend, David Robinson speaks up on the matter, saying any reported tension between Leonard and the team is not a big deal. Hope still remains among some that Leonard can return to lift the Spurs to the upper echelon in the West for the playoffs.
Late March
On March 21, Manu Ginobili tells reporters the team can’t play with the expectation that Leonard will return this season. AN ESPN report the next day claims the team had a meeting led by Tony Parker trying to convince Leonard to come back for the playoffs, but Danny Green and a host of other Spurs immediately call it “incorrect.” On March 23, Parker tells reporters he had a similar injury to Leonard going into the season, but his “was a hundred times worse.”
Theories about who is leaking information regarding Kawhi and how this saga will impact his potential future with other teams continue to become an increasing topic of conversation.
The idea of how Leonard fits into the Spurs’ culture and whether or not he is not invested in a future in San Antonio becomes a much bigger talking point.
The last day of the month it is reported that Leonard returned to New York for rehab about a week prior.
April
Popovich says on April 1 that Leonard’s return will be up to Leonard and “his group” and the Spurs have no idea when he will be back. Trade rumors around Leonard now start to feel like more of a reality as potential suitors start to stick out.
After it is reported Leonard will miss San Antonio’s playoff opener, it is reported the next day he will miss the entire postseason due to the quad injury. Leonard did not show up for the Spurs’ playoff opener, and concerns about a divide between Leonard and the team and whether or not he was sitting out because of issues with the team became even louder.
On April 17, following a loss in Game 2 against the Warriors, Popovich spoke on LaMarcus Aldridge and how “he plays through everything,” leaving many to wonder if the coach was taking a shot at Leonard for sitting practically the entire season with the right quad injury.
May
On May 1, ESPN released a report detailing the mess of internal issues that plagued the Spurs throughout the season and the team’s relationship with Leonard. Leonard’s close circle, which includes his agent Mitch Frankel and uncle, Dennis Robertson, suggested interest in a move to a larger market in Los Angeles, New York City or Philadelphia. The next day, Leonard returned to San Antonio after spending six weeks in New York City working on rehabilitation.
With the season concluded, the San Antonio Express-News reported on May 18 that the Spurs top priority of the summer is to “mend fences” in an effort to welcome Leonard back into the fold of the team. A super-max contract could be explored that would be worth an estimated $219 million.
June
On June 9, ESPN reported that the Spurs had “zero interest” in trading Leonard away and stated there is “no divide” in the team. The San Antonio Express-News echoed the statement and reported the relationship between the team and its star “could be approaching the healing stage.” Popovich and Leonard reportedly scheduled a sit-down conversation to negotiate plans for the future. Only four days later, the Express-News reported Leonard had “grown uncomfortable with the Spurs” and wanted to leave San Antonio. The Lakers are reportedly his preferred destination.
With a little over two weeks left until free agency opens, uncertainty remains around where Leonard will end up.
Kawhi Leonard Lakers
San Antonio Spurs should not take Kawhi Leonard back if they are ever given the opportunity, claims NBA pundit Skip Bayless. Toronto Raptors signed the small forward on a one-year deal this summer but they had to let DeMar DeRozan head in the opposite direction. And DeRozan has made a blistering start to the season leading to Bayless believing his side got the better deal.
“Be my guest Toronto, enjoy number two, who will never be anything more than number two,” Bayliss told Undisputed.
Kawhi Leonard News Today
Kawhi Leonard helps force Ben Simmons into 11-turnover game, showing exactly why the Raptors traded for him
Updated on: 31 October 2018.
The Toronto Raptors made a big bet this summer when they pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade to get Kawhi Leonard, a move that might leave them empty-handed next offseason. But for this season, they knew they’d have one of the best players in the league, and Leonard is already showing why.
The team is out to a fantastic 7-1 start, with their only loss coming on Monday night against the still-undefeated Bucks with Leonard out of the lineup for rest. But he was back in action on Tuesday night in the Raptors’ big 129-112 win over the 76ers. It was a showcase game for Leonard, who led the way on both ends, and proved exactly why the Raptors brought him to town.
He poured in 31 points on just 19 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. And of course, he was creating havoc on the defensive end, where he swiped four steals and locked up Ben Simmons, helping to force the Sixers point guard into a career-high 11 turnovers.
Leonard matched up with Simmons to start the game, and right from the opening tip wouldn’t give the youngster any space. In fact, on the first possession of the game, Leonard simply took the ball from Simmons.
A few possessions later, Leonard read what Simmons was going to do on the fast break, and deflected his pass for another steal.
(Side note: the defensive strategy the Raptors employed here — using a big to wall off Simmons in transition and force him to kick it out, where other defenders are waiting — is the same one the Celtics had success stopping Simmons with in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend in the league.)
These two types of plays would reappear throughout the night. Late in the second half, after switching off Simmons — the Raptors do a lot of switching — Leonard once again read his eyes and jumped into the passing lane for a steal.
Poor J.J. Redick. And then late in the fourth, Leonard put his finishing touch on the game by once again taking the ball straight from Simmons.
It wasn’t all Leonard, of course. Simmons had some offensive fouls and one possession where he just lost the ball out of bounds while going up for a layup. But the Raptors’ defensive mastermind set the tone early by forcing two quick turnovers and frustrated Simmons all night long. Philly’s young star finished with the wrong kind of triple-double in the game, registering 11 points, 10 assists, and 11 turnovers.
Leonard’s ability to take key opponents out of games like this is why he’s won the Defensive Player of the Year Award twice already in his career, and why the Raptors were willing take a huge risk — and trade away a beloved All-Star in DeMar DeRozan — to acquire him. If he keeps playing like this, it might just turn out to have been worth it.
Adopted from: www.cbssports.com
Kawhi Leonard To Sign With The Los Angeles Clippers: Report
He led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA Championship, but it looks like Kawhi Leonard has found a new home. For weeks there have been rumors and speculations regarding Leonard’s next move. Some have stated that Drake was doing his best to keep Leonard with his home team, others made claims that the baller was eyeing the Los Angeles Lakers, but Senior NBA Insider for Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes tweeted an hour ago he received information that Leonard has finally made a decision.
“Free agent forward Kawhi Leonard will sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources tell Yahoo Sports,” Haynes wrote. If this is true, Leonard, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, will reportedly go toe-to-toe with LeBron James and Anthony Davis next season. Just hours ago, CBS Sports reported that the Lakers are still hopeful in their pursuit of Leonard, but Yahoo Sports is adamant that an official Leonard-Clippers announcement is on the horizon.
ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that his sources revealed Leonard is expected to sign a “four-year, $142M maximum contract.” He wrote, “Leonard and [Paul] George met in LA earlier in the week. Clippers had long been frontrunners for Leonard, but it is unlikely he would’ve made the final leap to sign without PG trade. Clippers imagined Leonard as part of a Lakers Big 3 — and knew they had no choice. They did OKC deal. In the end, Kawhi Leonard didn’t want to construct a Super Team with the Lakers. He wanted a co-star across the Staples corridor with the Clippers and made it clear to Steve Ballmer and Lawrence Frank: Get PG, and I’m coming.”
Source: Hot New Hip Hop
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