San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson presented him into the Naismith Hall of Fame this summer. Had a fifth chair been set next to the podium during Gregg Popovich's enshrinement speech, it's not a bad assumption that it wouldn't have been reserved for Kawhi Leonard.
But Pop's legacy suggests otherwise.
Kawhi Leonard's impact on Spurs' Gregg Popovich
Two days after stating, “That's all I need to say,” and “There's no more questions that need to be asked,” the Spurs head coach did say more after Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News asked more questions in San Francisco. Popovich stuck by his “You don't poke the bear” answer on addressing Spurs fans during Wednesday's game as they booed Leonard, though a phrase stood out as he elaborated.
“I felt sorry for him,” the longest-tenured coach in the NBA revealed within expanded thoughts about the tone of today's societal discourse and San Antonio fans' treatment of a player once thought of as the face of the franchise.
Such emotions shouldn't surprise considering Pop and The Klaw spent seven years together during a stretch that saw Leonard grow from a little-known near-lottery pick to a league MVP candidate with a Larry O'Brien Trophy along the way.
Boston Celtics icon Red Auerbach had Bill Russell and Bob Cousy. Pat Riley had Los Angeles Lakers legends Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. Phil Jackson had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Chicago Bulls and then Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in LA.
But Auerbach also won with John Havlicek, Riley also won with Dwyane Wade and Shaq in Miami, and Jackson also won with Pau Gasol next to Kobe. Though Popovich's five championships are less than half of Jackson's 11 and his six NBA Finals trail Riley's nine, he stands beside them and Auerbach, whom he's behind in both categories, on the NBA's Mount Rushmore of coaches. Pop's place as the league's all-time winningest coach is a major reason, as is his 2020 Olympic gold medal. What he was able to accomplish during Kawhi Leonard's time in the Alamo City proves bigger.
The coach who rode Duncan to five Finals appearances and four rings, all but one with Parker and Ginobili, found a way to reclaim the mountaintop with Timmy pushing 40 years old and the youngest of his eventual Hall of Fame triumvirate, Parker, at 32. When the Spurs reached the 2012 Western Conference Finals in Leonard's rookie season, it marked the first year they'd won a game beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2008. The next summer, San Antonio infamously came within a Ray Allen Game 6 three-pointer of capturing its first title since 2007. Then came 2014, which proved as much a transition as it did a display of offensive perfection.
Kawhi Leonard, who would earn two All-NBA First Team nods, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and finish second and third in league MVP voting while with the Silver and Black, grew Gregg Popovich's legend with an MVP performance in those 2014 Finals. The four conference finals appearances during that span, giving Pop 10 in 19 seasons over his 28-year head coaching career, didn't hurt either.
From slow and plodding in 1999, to the Big 3 of 2003, 2005 and '07, to the Beautiful Game of '14, to the Victor Wembanyama project now, Popovich continues to adapt. He's imploring his fan base to do so as well. Even if it's regarding the player who bitterly forced his way out of town nearly five and a half years ago.
Because right now, just like on that Hall of Fame stage three months ago, Leonard doesn't have a seat among the Spurs greats.
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