Kawhi Leonard was among the most sought-after talents in this recent slate of free agency, but nine years ago, he wasn't as heavily recruited as others in his class. Before he became The Klaw and before he became known for the ice in his veins during the closing seconds of games, the LA Clippers forward was known for his defense and his huge wingspan, which allowed him to snare rebounds over kids much bigger than him.
Tim Sweeney Jr., then the head coach at Martin Luther King Jr. High, saw Leonard at the team’s first practice, immediately calling his dad, a former high school coach himself, to come watch Leonard play. Sweeney made quite the comparison:
“This kid’s going to be an NBA All-Star by the time we’re done with him,” Sweeney remembers telling his father, according to Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer. “He was a Dennis Rodman that could score.”
Even in today's NBA, Leonard's hands stand as one of the most recognizable parts about him — so much so that he made his very own hand silhouette into his former logo with Nike and subsidiary Brand Jordan.
Before finding his penchant for making mid-range shots and silently tearing through a defense, Leonard made his mark at San Diego State with his trademark hawk-like defense, carrying that same skill set and improving on it after he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs.
The aging of teammates Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan called for him stepping up as the next star of the franchise, which he did in 2013 when capturing his first title, only to do it all over again a few months ago with the Toronto Raptors — using a Rodman-like tenacity on the boards.
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