Kawhi Leonard used to be regarded as the future cornerstone of the San Antonio Spurs franchise but the two sides had an ugly divorce in 2018 when they decided to trade the forward to the Toronto Raptors after it became apparent that he was not going to sign a new deal in the offseason with the team. Leonard, who is about to return to action after missing the entire 2021-22 NBA season because of an ACL injury, seemingly tossed a shade at the Spurs recently while explaining his road back to full recovery.
“Kawhi on how different it is returning off a long layoff this season compared to his comeback with Toronto. He says his rehab process is ‘very different' this time than in San Antonio before Toronto trade because of ‘having the team behind my back… they want what’s best for me.'”
The relationship between the Spurs and the now-Los Angeles Clippers star was greatly damaged by disagreement over what Kawhi Leonard perceived as mishandling of his injury by San Antonio's staff. Both sides have since moved on, but it's Kawhi Leonard who's capitalized the most on the separation as he has won an NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019 and is still playing for an NBA title contender. Meanwhile, the Spurs are still rebuilding, potentially tanking this season away in hopes of landing the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Kawhi Leonard will make his much-awaited return Thursday night against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.